Twisted Web
by Ariennye
Summary: [Revised 4.2.05] They're both searching for what they've lost. But Galbadia won't give them the time needed to recover. Can they pull through despite it all? SeiferxQuistis, minor Zellxlibrarian
1. Prologue

I do not own Final Fantasy, I have never owned Final Fantasy, and I probably never will.

**Prologue: After the War**

_Six months after the defeat of Ultimecia_

"So let me get this straight. Melissa Rodriguez, the librarian, still agreed to go out with you?" Irvine said, shocked.

"Well, yeah. What's so surprising about that?" Zell asked, confused.

"Well, I would have thought that after the incident at the party..." Irvine trailed off, a smirk on his face. Zell's eyes narrowed. That smirk was never, ever a good sign.

"What party are you...oh, the party after Ultimecia's defeat," Zell smiled fondly as he said that. That had been a good night.

"Yeah, the one where you shoved hot dogs into your face like there had been a five year famine."

"There was! A famine from hot dogs!" Zell looked annoyed. He could never expect an uncultured, uncivilized person such as Irvine to understand what hot dogs meant.

"Look, you choked on a hot dog, then Selphie and Quistis had to pound you on the back. And after that, you threw a hot dog at me!" Irvine pointed proudly to himself, and struck a heroic pose. "At the great, wonderful me!" The psychotic cowbow looked deeply indignant at that. Zell just rolled his eyes. Irvine had no idea what reality was.

"Irvine, you are not as cool as you think."

"300 girls can't be wrong!" Irvine said slyly, winking at Zell. Zell sighed.

"You haven't even dated three. I know, I asked around. You flirt and flirt and flirt, but no one actually wants to date you. I may have waited six months to ask a girl out, but at least she said yes." He smirked, narrowing his eyes at Irvine's discomfort. "What do you think of yourself now?"

"Still, I can't wait until tomorrow," The evil smirk was back as he quickly changed the subject before it became embarrassing. Zell was afraid to ask, but he knew that curiosity was going to get the better of him. And it did.

"What happens tomorrow?" Zell mentally steeled himself. The grin had gotten wider, and that was always a bad sign. Always.

"I annoy you for information about your date. Over and over and over. Loudly, if need be."

"Great..." Zell muttered, with absolutely no enthusiasm at all.

* * *

Quistis groaned in frustration. She had been trying and trying, and there was still no information on Seifer's whereabouts. _Where could Seifer hide? Everyone knows his face, and what he did. _She got up, and stretched her aching muscles. She had been in front of the computer for ages, and there was nothing. 

She remembered the time compression, right after Ultimecia had defeated her. She had been the first one knocked out. She had been wandering around a huge white nothingness, and had seen a person in the distance. Upon closer inspection, it had been Seifer. Crying. Not just a few tears, it was serious. His chest was heaving, and his forehead was cradled in his hands. She had been surprised to see the arrogant, tough bully of Balamb Garden in tears. After a moment of hesitation, she had tried to walk over to him, to see what was the matter, and because he was the only human she had encountered in that wasteland. But he had vanished, and she had been left alone. At least until the others had appeared.

_I know it couldn't have been a dream. If I was so lonely an apparition appeared, it wouldn't have been of Seifer. Especially not crying. I can't even remember the last time he cried out in any kind of pain, let alone remember any tears falling from his demoic eyes.  
_  
_He should be sorry for what he did to us. And yet, why do I care?_ she wondered for the twentieth time that day. He had cost her the teaching license she had worked hard to get, and nearly gotten them all killed. _So why care?_ But she knew the answer.

_Because, despite what he's done, he was my friend at the orphanage. Sure, everyone else liked me. But I was older, and therefore too 'old' to be a close companion. Ellone always accepted me, but she was so busy with Squall. Seifer was really the only one there. Sure, we fought and he was so mean, but usually I could curb his spite. And he could usually convince me to enjoy myself, save me from my constant worrying.  
_  
_But that's the past, right? People change, and Seifer has changed more than all of us._ It should have been the past. But she was still here, in this small computer lab, typing in the addresses for online newspapers and magazines, actually watching the entire newscast each evening, trying to find anything that may be remotely related to him to follow up on, even if he wasn't directly mentioned. _Why am I sitting back down at this computer, in a hard backed chair, sipping some coffee that is now the temperature of snow, when it's a gorgeous day out and all my friends are out there, enjoying themselves? _And, as always, she mentally answered herself.

_Because I still think he deserves another chance. _

* * *

Seifer looked at the sky. It was a beautiful combination of red, orange and purple, hovering above the sparkling blue-green of Balamb Bay. He nearly smiled, as he walked toward the crater where Balamb Garden had once stood, feeling the cool breeze playing across the plains, tossing his hair in his face, gently tickling the scar that wound down his nose to the cheek below, and tossing his trenchcoat back like a movie villans. He was glad he'd learned over the Garden line that it wasn't due to arrive for ten more minutes (he had tapped the line, just one of the useful skills he had learned in the underground where he had been hiding these past six months). He wanted time to think about the course of action he had chosen. The second biggest choice of his life, second only to the choice he had made so many months ago, in the broadcast station above the rooftops of Timber. 

He walked up to the blackened crater, and sat down on the ridge. He had ten long, excruciating minutes to reconsider, to wonder why on earth he was actually thinking about doing this.

_Do I have any right, asking for another change? _he wondered, his mouth frowning ever so slightly. _After everything I did, all the lives I either ended or crumbled, do I have any right to ask for a second change? They trusted me when I was a cadet, letting me take the examination three times, despite my attitude and flaws. The took me in when I was an orphan, when no one else would open up their hearts to me. They let me slide again and again and again, and did nothing but help me. All those years of schooling and board, tolerance and acceptance. Then I just threw it aside when Edea, Ultimecia really, showed up and promised me more. And I believed her! Despite what I had learned, despite what they had tried to tell me like a compassionate parent, I tossed all of that aside like a coat I was finsihed with. I thought I would be a god, a knight, better than Squall. And in the end, he was the better man. He won, and I lost. Just like he always does. I won a lot of battles, sure, but he always won the war. He is a sorceress' knight, and I am a mockery of the mere name. He is a great SeeD, and I couldn't passed three fucking exams. He and Rinoa are probably together right now, and I am alone. He is a hero, and I am a demon. Garden took me in, made into everything I was before I left. And how I have repaid them? _

With their own blood.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everyone. This is my first serious story here, so I hope you guys like it. The main focal point, beside the mission, is Seifer trying to make amends. After the game ended, I always wondered how Seifer would try to make up for what he did, if he chose to, and how everyone would react. This will be a Seifer/Quistis story, and the entire Zell/librarian story will be secondary to the main story.

Still don't own Final Fantasy

**Chapter One: In The Beginning**

"So, tell me all about it," a voice said from somewhere behind Zell as he finished off his last breakfast hotdog. He turned to see the obnoxious cowboy standing there.

"About what?" he asked innocently.

"About last night. Did you kiss her?"

"Irvine!" Zell said, shocked. "Geez, we just went to get dinner"

"So?" Irvine asked. "What's your point?"

"So, this was two people getting dinner. Not like a...you know, date or anything" Zell looked frightened at the mere thought.

"Zell, it has been about..." Irvine throught for a brief moment. "...three months since you guys started dating."

"You've been counting, haven't you? Your pause didn't fool me. You're jealous because I'm better with the ladies than you are." Zell smirked at him. Irvine rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right. Anyway, it's been three whole months since you started dating."

"Don't use that word!" Zell threw his hands over his ears. Irvine grinned. Zell had just given him some more ammunition to use in their never-ending battle.

"Geez, you're such a baby. You're dating her, and you know it. So grow up."

"So?"

"You guys need to kiss. It's a tradition." Zell looked shocked at the mere thought of it.

"Says who? I've never heard of it."

"Just afraid to kiss her? Now who's bad with the ladies?"

"Hey, I said it wasn't exactly dating. It's more..." Zell tried to think of another word for it, but nothing came to mind. _Damn, he's won this battle._ It wasn't that he was ashamed to admit they were dating, it was just really strange. He'd never actually had a serious girlfriend before, not that he'd ever tell Irvine that. Besides, it went against his principles to agree with what Irvine said. He decided to change the subject before Irvine realized he'd won.

"Anyway, I've never heard of that tradition."

"Well, I made it up just now. And because I said it's important, it's important."

"Maybe I should tell you to go away."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Maybe I don't care."

"Maybe-"

"Irvine, Zell, enough bickering," Squall said as he joined them with a couple pieces of toast.

"But..." began Irvine.

"No. I don't care what you're arguing about this time, I just want you to stop."

"Yes sir," Irvine said, saluting him.

"Stop saying 'yes sir'. I am so tired of it."

"Yes si..." Zell trailed off at the look on his face. He quickly changed what he was about to say. "...Squall."

"Better." he muttered.

* * *

Zell was walking the Training Center after hours. He knew he shouldn't be up, but he felt like taking a walk, mainly to reflect. 

He turned into the Secret Area. Usually, it was a place to avoid after hours, but it appeared deserted. He walked up to the balcony, and looked out over the top of Garden, with its magnificent lights. Off to the side he heard a soft movement, as though someone was standing up. He turned to his side to apologize to the person for disturbing them, and was shocked to see Melissa standing up.

"Hello," he said, trying not to let the butterflies in his stomach get the better of him. He had faced Ultimecia, battled level 100 monsters, and been through Time Compression, but somehow that seemed insignificant to being right here, right now. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. And you?"

"The same, pretty much." They stood there for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. Zell watched her out of the corner of his eye. _I guess we are kind of dating. I never quite expected that to happen anytime soon, and I don't think anyone else did. After all, I'm not exactly one of the more serious people out there, like, say, Squall. And yet here I am, the first to have a girlfriend out of us all. Unless you count Seifer and Rinoa, which I don't. _She looked pretty standing there, the soft light of Garden gently highlighting her hair. She was looking down at her hands, as though she were as nervous as he was. _That can't be it. She's one of the more confident people I know. Maybe she's just thinking.  
_  
"Zell, why did you become a SeeD?" Melissa asked, breaking through his thoughts. The question surprised him. They hadn't really talked about Garden or anything that was worked related recently. _Why would she bring it up now? Maybe looking at Garden reminded her, _he thought. He realized she was waiting for an answer.

"I guess it has something to do with being raised in Balamb, before I was adopted. Something about SeeD seemed...bigger than life. Like the heroes in comic books. I watched them leaving for missions at the dock and the train station, carrying their weapons confidently, walking as though they had a set purpose in life, and they just seemed so confident, so calm, so in control of their lives. And all I could think about was how I wanted to be like them, because they were never confused, going on exciting missions and seeing so much of the world. So I asked my mom. She didn't like it at first, but in the end she agreed."

Melissa was silent, digesting this information. "Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"I was just curious." They lapsed back into silence, a slightly awkward, uneasy silence. _This still isn't as awkward as talking to Squall, nor do I feel as uneasy as I do when Irvine is talking to me. Although that's usually because he's about to insult me in some subtle way.  
_

"Why are you a SeeD?" Zell asked. He just couldn't stand the silence any more. She frowned thoughtfully.

"I guess there were a lot of reasons, some not to different from your own. Mostly, the problem was I came from a poorer family. They couldn't afford to send me to a decent school. Then I heard about the SeeD program. In exchange for being a SeeD you got schooling and some money, because it's a job. In a way, one of the reasons I chose it over other programs was because they did seem bigger than life. They went everywhere, did almost everything, and that was something that I wanted to do." She was silent for a moment. "I didn't know you were adopted."

"Yeah. I don't know who my real parents are, but the Dincht's in Balamb have been great adoptive parents. We didn't know this until about a year ago, but all of us with the exception of Rinoa were in the orphanage together. Even Seifer was there."

"Really? That's an odd coincidence."

"Yeah. We're not even sure it was coincidence. Maybe it was meant to happen, like fate."

"It's possible." She thought for a moment. "Being stuck with Seifer in an orphanage?that doesn't sound like fun."

"From what I remember, it wasn't. We were always fighting over something or other. A toy truck, a stuffed animal, it didn't matter. If it was mine and I liked it, Seifer had to have it. I remember this one time, I had this great new car I had bought with my allowance. Well, Seifer came up to me when I was going down to the beach, and told me I needed to pay the toll. I didn't know what to do. He said I could pay with my car. I told him no, but he grabbed it anyway. So I was walking along the beach when I came across this dead squid. Well, Seifer was nearby, and I was mad at him, so I kind of added the two together...literally. Needless to say, Matron, the lady who watched us, wasn't happy, but it was worth it. He smelled like dead squid for a week." Melissa laughed at the mental image he was conjuring. He laughed with her. She had a nice laugh, not too deep and not too high. They both stopped, smiling, then looked back out over Garden. Melissa looked at her watch, and jumped.

"Whoa, it's after eleven. I have an early shift tomorrow at the library, so I should get to bed. See you tomorrow, in the Cafeteria for lunch?" she asked as she turned to leave.

"Of course," he said, smiling back

* * *

"Great," muttered Irvine as he sat down between Quistis and Rinoa. 

"What?" Rinoa asked, looking up from the dog magazine she was reading.

"Zell over there-" he gestured toward Zell, who was in line on the other side of the cafeteria, "-stuck a frog in my room!"

Quistis began to choke on her milk. Rinoa grinned. "A frog? What for?"

"It's not funny! That thing jumped out at me, and slimed all over me!" This statement didn't help Quistis, who had recently become doubled over with laughter. Rinoa was also laughing, and she tried to hide the tears of laughter forming in the corners of her eyes.

"S-s-s-slimed?" she repeated, clutching her stomach as her laughter grew. Irvined looked annoyed at this response from his two 'friends'.

"Hey, that's a serious problem." Squall walked over just then. He looked tired. Rinoa and Quistis stopped laughing. He just collapsed in the fourth chair at the table, and leaned his head back, his eyes closed.

"What's the matter, Squall?" Rinoa asked, concerned.

"Irvine," he said.

"What?" Irvine asked.

"No, I'm explaining my problem. And my problem is you."

"What did Irvine do?" asked Rinoa.

"Well, first there was a sharp, high-pitched scream, which I later find out was caused by a someone being scared by a frog, hidden in Irvine's room, that had jumped out and _'slimed' _on him," Squall frowned at the word slimed. It just wasn't a word he used. "Next, he puts his foot under the water of his shower to clean it off, only the frog jumps back at him. He breaks the handle of the water spigot, which sprays water everywhere. Then, he disposed of the frog by throwing it in the vents. About this time I get a report of flooding in corridor 28."

Quistis and Rinoa, who had recovered since Squall had appeared in the cafeteria with his story, were back to laughing. Irvine was scowling, and Squall looked mildly amused.

"The frog was never found, and corridor 28 is off-limits," he added.

* * *

Zell came over to his table with Melissa on the other side of the Cafeteria, looking less bright than he normally was. 

"What's the matter?" Melissa asked as he sat down. Even if he hadn't looked a bit unhappy, Melissa could tell he was upset, because he had about fifteen hotdogs piled on his plate. One of Zell's weird habits was to eat more than his usual five hotdogs when something was wrong.

"I'm going on a mission." She knew he was ready for a mission, after so long with no activity. He wasn't the kind to sit around and do nothing. He was just worried about her reaction.

"Well, that is your job," she said, trying not to sound too disappointed. She knew he had to do his job, hell, it was her job too, but why did it have to be so soon? They were just starting to get along better than ever.

"I know. I mean, I wanted a mission, but I was hoping for next week, not so soon?" he muttered. Melissa understood. Hell, she felt the same way.

"How long is it?" she asked.

"It's supposed to be five days, unless something goes wrong," he said. There they were, the words she didn't want to hear. She looked down at her food before he could see her eyes, but Zell noticed something was wrong. He raised his hand for a moment, then with a sudden rush of certainty grasped her hand. She looked up, startled. "Hey, I'll call you when I can. And it's not like something will go wrong. After all, I am SeeDs finest." He stood up, released her hand, started to get into a heroic pose, and tripped over his chair. He jumped up, embarrassed, as his cheeks turned a deep scarlet. Suddenly, the situation was very humorous.

"I can see that," she gasped between laughter fits. He mock scowled at her.

"Now really, that wasn't very funny."

"Oh yes it was. If only I had a video camera..."

"Well, maybe a little," he admitted as he sat back down. "Let's eat, I'm starved."

* * *

"Selphie, have you heard anything about Seifer lately?" Quistis asked Selphie as she entered the library, as Quistis typed information into the computer, searching the Deling Times archives. Selphied looked at Quistis in shock, then turned to a shelf to look for her book. 

"Seifer? I haven't thought about him in a long time. I thought he died after Ultimecia's defeat."

"No, I saw him alive in Time Compression." Selphie pulled a book off the shelf, and sat down next to Quistis. She looked mildly concerned.

"Quistis, don't take this the wrong way, but are you alright? I mean, why worry about that loser? He made you lose your license. Besides, who cares about Seifer? He tried to kill us, you know."

Quistis spun to face her. "You don't think people deserve second chances?" she asked, shocked.

"Well..." Selphie trailed off. "Generally, yes, but Seifer? How can you expect to have him come back, apologize, and everything be all wonderful again? Because of him many people are dead, some of our friends in Garden are dead. He can't expect to make up for all of that."

"I don't think he's happy with what he's done."

"What about in Timber, and in D-District Prison, and the Sorceress parade, when he was just standing there, smirking? And have you forgotten about how he tried to kill Rinoa, and assist in the destruction of the world?"

"I saw him crying during Time Compression, Selphie. Crying. I don't think people who are pleased with what they've done curl up and cry."

"What about tears of happiness?" Selphie asked spitefully.

"Selphie..."

"Well, okay, maybe he does want another chance. Why give it to him?" Selphie looked utterly unconvinced.

"Because everyone deserves another chance. Wouldn't you want one, if you'd done something you were ashamed of?"

"Well, yes, true..."

"And what if he didn't do anything voluntarily? What if she possessed him, or threatened him, or..."

"Okay, okay!" Selphie sighed in defeat. Quistis may not fight many points, but when she did there was no getting her to turn back. "Fine, where does the search begin?"

"Here's the site for the Timber Gazette..."

* * *

Zell surveyed the Dollet cliffs. The mission was a simple one. The Galbadians had recently stolen a secret datadisk from a Dollet dukedom transport. Dollet had decided to retrieve it themselves, and the Galbadians had come to steal it back. Dollet had enlisted Garden's aid to protect them and the datadisk, which they had hidden in the mountain area surrounding Dollet. The Dollet government had refused to comment on what the datadisk were, and Zell hadn't pressed the question. After all, they were the paying clients, and what was on the disk wasn't important to the mission. Right now, there were several Galbadian troops scouting the lower half of the cliff face. He gave the other SeeDs in his scouting party a hand signal, and they slowly crept downward. 

Unfortunately for the SeeDs, the dukedom wanted all Galbadians alive so they could question them. It would have been easy to use a quick sneak attack and wipe them out. Instead, they were using sleep spells. And running out of them.

The Galbadians never knew what hit them. One moment, they were looking for hiding places in the cliff face, the next they were off into the wonderful Sleep Land. Zell grinned. The sleep spells had worked perfectly. This was too easy.

He reached for his portable phone. "Dollet command, come in." After a burst of static, the reply came.

"Dollet command here."

"We've located a group of Galbadians, and put them to sleep. You can send up a retrieval squad anytime."

"Thanks for the information, SeeD group."

"Any idea how many are out here?"

"Well, we guess about seven parties, but we don't know for sure."

"I see. And you hid the datadisks out here?"

"Yes, although the exact location is need-to-know only."

"I understand. I just wanted a feel for the mission. This is highly irregular, not knowing much about the mission."

"We understand. We're just worried about infiltrators in your groups." Zell bit his mouth back on an angry reply. After all, they were the clients. And unlike Squall, Zell didn't argue with clients.

"Of course. Call us with any new developments."

"Dollet command out." Zell turned the phone off, then signaled the rest of the SeeDs to start heading downhill.

They stumbled on two more search parties, and within minutes all were hit with sleep spells. Zell's grin was gone, and he was starting to feel nervous. This really was too easy.

Zell stopped his group at the meeting point, where all the parties were supposed to meet every hour, to make sure they were all there. After the other groups arrived, he scouted ahead with three other SeeDs, leaving the others behind. He stumbled across two Galbadian soldiers, and was about to put a sleep spell on them when he heard what they were talking about. He signaled the other SeeDs not to cast the spells.

"So, what about that datadisk?"

"The commander said we weren't supposed to talk about it."

"I know, but I'm curious. After all, we went through all the trouble to get it away from Dollet. Why shouldn't we know about it?"

"I know, but I don't want to get into trouble..."

"You won't! I will not tell on you, promise."

"Okay." The soldier looked around nervously, then leaned closer to the other. Zell also leaned in as far as the bushes would let him. "He said that the datadisk wasn't important. It was just some computer program for more efficient machines. They really want something else, an AI chip."

"And AI chip! I thought Galbadia was the only country with AI chips."

"I thought that too. Maybe Esthar gave us some."

"Why would Esthar do that? They've been cut off since the Sorceress War. They're barely starting to contact anyone else. Why should they interact this much with other countries now, going as far as to give them some of their top technology? It doesn't make sense."

"I don't know." The guard looked around, as though expecting his superior to jump out and yell at him. "Maybe we should continue searching for hiding places."

"Yeah."

The sixth sense one gains when training for battle their entire lives was starting to tingle. Zell knew that all the Galbadian search parties would never let themselves be caught this easily. They were stupid, but not that stupid. They would be careful, because failure was handled poorly by the Galbadian leaders. Unless...they were ordered to. If that was the case, then this was just a distraction. Which meant they were really searching...Zell thought for a moment. _Where would Dollet have an AI chip, if not in a mountian stronghold? They would never put the town at risk by hiding it there. Unless even they didn't know they had it. Which means they're going to be in serious trouble. But where could it be..._

"Byron! You're in command of this small group here." Zell pointed about a fourth of the SeeDs. They needed people to defend against the possible Galbadian backup, and Byron was a responsible SeeD. "Continue to scout the cliff and mountain area for any backup the Galbadians may send. Use force if it comes to it. My team, come with me! NOW!" Everyone frantically began to split up to go about the separate tasks. Zell had realized what the real target was.

Lapin Beach.


	3. Chapter 2

Squaresoft still owns Final Fantasy.

**Chapter Two: Mission Briefing **

Zell and his team raced down the old trail from the Dollet Communications Tower to Dollet. He hoped they would get there in time to stop the Galbadians. He knew that calling the Dollet government should have been his first move, but they had told him that their soldiers were searching the other half of the mountains or protecting the water infront of the barrier, so the Galbadian backup wouldn't get them. Calling would have been a waste of time. Dollet would never move their few troops out of those defensive positions because that would put the people at risk.

Now that he had a chance to think while they were running, Dollet's actions made sense. Dollet was afraid that if the SeeDs knew the truth about the disk, someone within SeeD would take valuable time away from protecting Dollet to solve the mystery. They weren't about to forget Seifer's actions a year ago, when he had disobeyed a direct order, just because he had wanted to investigate the tower where the Galbadians were. As a result of that, the X-ATM092 had come crashing into town, killing one person and smashing many buildings.

They sped through Dollet, ignoring the surprised looks on the townspeople's faces. But as they reached the beach, Zell groaned. The Galbadians were already here, searching the ruins of the X-ATM092. No doubt they were looking for the AI chip, while pretending to be here looking for the datadisk. For some reason, they didn't want people to know they had the chip. But Zell could ponder that later. Right now, he had a job to do. He signaled the SeeDs to ready their weapons, and checked his own Erghiz. He flexed his hands in anticipation of the upcoming fight.

"No Guardians!" he called back. This close to the town someone may get hurt. Something Dollet frowned upon very, very much. He pointed to Jones.

"Get that group you had in the mountains and circle around them. Kill the resistance they may have, then get onto the beach.

"Sir!" Jones said in acknowledgement, then pulled his SeeDs off to the side. Zell continued to race forward.

The surprised Galbadians looked up as the SeeDs poured into the beach. The majority started to attack them, as the rest continued to search the ruins. There were clashes of metal on metal, and fists meeting flesh as the two sides started to battle. Zell raced toward a Galbadian soldier, avoiding the slashes from his weapon. He ducked behind the soldier and hit him with a right hook. The man went down, and Zell moved toward the next one. This one was obviously a ranking soldier, because he had a machine gun. Zell ducked behind the stairs leading down to Lapin Beach, while another SeeD hit him with his mace.

Slowly, the stream of SeeDs started to break through the Galbadian ranks. It looked as though the Galbadian plan was foiled. Then a submarine appeared, and discharged a new, fresh wave of soldiers. One rushed at Zell, sword raised. Zell ducked under it, but it slashed his upperarm. Zell grunted, and landed a harsh roundhouse kick on his ribs, followed by an uppercut to his chin. The man grunted, and fell backward. Zell didn't even watch him fall, moving on to a new opponent. This man also had a machine gun, so Zell decided to use a new tactic.

"Thundara!" he shouted, thrusting his hand at the man. Thunderbolts crashed into him, and he kneeled over. Zell turned to his next opponent. He was starting to tire. The ablilities gained by Guardians were wonderful, but they would start to leave if you battled too long. It was like coming off a sugar high, as Selphie had once described it. Zell supposed she would know. _Where's Jones?_ he wondered.

As though on cue Jones and his men poured out on the other side. Zell smiled to himself. It had actually been a good plan. With most of the Galbadians over here, Jones could attack the thinned area on the other side. _He'll make a good SeeD someday_.

A cry went up from the non-combatants. They had found the chip. The SeeDs pushed harder, but suddenly there was a loud noise. Several Galbadian troop carriers flew over Dollet, and hovered several feet above the soldiers on the beach. The people carrying the chip were loaded first, and the rest of the soldiers followed. Zell and the other SeeDs watched as they flew off into the distance. Zell looked around. Fortunately, there were no SeeD casualties. And there were no live Galbadians left, so there was no one to question. At least they had the people captured in the mountains. A hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"The duke would like to see you." a young man said. Zell frowned.

"And I have a couple questions for him." Zell said, following the man up the steps, and over to where Duke Victor Hansen of the Dollet Dukedom stood, surrounded by his aides.

"Sir, why wasn't I informed about the nature of the disk?" Zell asked, wasting no time on formalities. He was careful, however, to make sure that it didn't sound like he was accusing the man. He didn't want his first command to axed because he had yelled at the Dollet duke.

"We would have, but we didn't want...vigilante work going on." he explained. "I'm sure you heard about what happened at the last mission SeeD was on in Dollet."

Zell nodded. Just like he had thought.

"How did you find out about the disk?" Hansen asked.

"I overheard some Galbadians saying that the disk was a machine program. They also mentioned an AI chip, and I know that Galbadia is the only country with AI chips. I remembered hearing somewhere that the X-ATM092 had an AI chip in it that it was encased in titanium to protect it. I realized that they had stolen the disk from your transport as an excuse to come here, to steal the AI chip secretly. Why, I don't know yet."

"Wouldn't they have other AI chips, so they don't need to come here?"

"I would assume that they were destroyed in the second Sorceress War."

"Of course, that makes sense. Good work." Hansen thought for a moment. "I will call your Garden and inform them of the situation. They can advise you from there." He gestured toward the satellite communicator, and they walked over to it. After a few moments, Headmaster Cid Kramer was on the phone. Zell told him what they knew and suspected.

"Interesting. Is that all you know?"

"Yes sir." Zell replied.

"Well, we need to know what Galbadia is up to. You will return on the transport to Balamb, to restock supplies and get additional SeeDs. From there you will leave for Galbadia."

"I see sir, and I understand."

"Good. Leave tomorrow. Balamb Garden out." Zell stared at the screen for a few moments, unsure of what to do. The president spoke.

"Talk to the aide who led you over here, William Perrine. He will give you and the other SeeDs accommodations at the Dollet Inn."

Zell saluted. "Yes sir." he said, and walked over to where William Perrine stood. _Great. I won't see Melissa for a while now. I wonder if she'll be worried. I'll miss her, although I don't know if I could say that to her.  
_  
"What's the situation, sir?" Jones asked.

"We're to rest in the hotel for the evening. Tomorrow we move back to Garden, where we will receive further orders."

"You should get that arm looked at sir."

"I'll be fine Jones. I'm going for a walk, so you're incharge. Uh, what's-his-name here will show you the hotel."

"Perrine." the man said.

"That's right. Perrine."

"Sir..."

"I will be fine."

"If...if you say so. I'll get the other SeeDs checked out at a hospital, and save you a room at the hotel. I'll leave a message with the person at the desk to tell you your room."

"Good idea. I'll talk to you later." He raised his hand in a salute, and Jones quickly followed suit. Zell dropped his hand, and Jones dropped his. Zell walked away, smiling to himself.

_A damn fine SeeD indeed.

* * *

_

"Who's next?" asked Selphie. Quistis had roped her into going around and asking their friends if they'd heard of Seifer since the Sorceress War. Quistis consulted her list.

"Irvine."

"There he is now. Hey Irvine!" shouted Selphie, waving her hand energetically and running toward the brown-haired cowboy. Irvine looked up, surprised.

"What's the matter?" asked Irvine.

"Nothing really. Quistis just wanted to know if you've heard anything about Seifer recently."

"Seifer?" Irvine asked, even more surprised. "I haven't heard anything from Seifer since over three months ago, in Lunatic Pandora. Why are you asking?"

"I wanted to know where he is." Quistis said.

"Once again, why? He's...you know..." Irvine fished for a word, but found none. "...Seifer." he finished lamely. "That's really the best way to describe him."

"Uh-oh, you're in for 'the speech', Irvine." said Selphie, leaning against the wall. Quistis started her long 'everyone deserves a second chance' explanation.

* * *

He had been staring at it for the last half-hour. But no matter how hard he concentrated on it, it wouldn't go away and solve his problems. _What moron thought up this hellish invention?_ he grumbled to himself. He looked to the piece of paper in his hands, and then back at the damn machine that caused so much indecision.

Also known as the telephone.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the courage to call her. It would be a simple physical matter to pick up the phone and dial a number, but the mental power wasn't something he had. _Come on. She deserves to hear it from you, not a messenger. But am I just being self-centered to even think that she would be worried?_ _Oh man, now I'm going to be worrying about that the whole time I'm calling. Man, I just don't know what to do... So this is what Squall was talking about when he said it was hard to talk to people... _

He sighed, then got up. He picked up the phone, but put it back down. He looked back at her dorm number, which he had gotten it from Selphie when he had called her earlier. It was easy to call a friend, but calling Melissa was harder somehow. Was it because she was a girl? No, that couldn't be it, because he had called Selphie with no problems. _Then nothing is wrong, which means I can call her, _he tried to convince himself. But he couldn't hide the truth from his inner self. He really liked Melissa. And he wanted to ask her to meet him at the Balamb port. But he wasn't even sure if she would want to. He didn't want to call her, then feel like an idiot when she said she couldn't. Then he remembered what the author of a book he had read once had said about phones, and calling people. He couldn't remember the title, or what the book was about. But that one part had always stuck out in his mind. _You never know what could happen when you call a person. But it's better to know, instead of wondering later what the outcome could have been_. Finally, he came to a decision.

He picked the phone up again, and dialed her dorm number.

* * *

Melissa was sitting in her dorm watching the news when her phone rang. She reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"_It's Zell_."

"Oh hey Zell. Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"_Well, not really_." He paused, probably to gather his thoughts. "_They're prolonging my mission_."

Melissa was silent a moment. _They're...prolonging his mission?_ She willed her voice to be calm. "How much longer?"

"_I would guess at least a week, but I don't know. We have to go to go elsewhere. Some...new developments came up we have to deal with._" She knew he couldn't say anything about the mission over the phone.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you when you get back."

"_Yeah._"There was a pause from both of them, as they thought. _A week? Well, I guess I'll see Zell when he gets back. But I'll miss him. Although I couldn't say that to him. I don't know if we're at that stage in this...relationship, for lack of a better word. I was never good at talking to him anyway.  
_  
"_So, I'll see you later. Mind if I call, if I get the chance?_" he asked.

"That would be great." Melissa said, and she really meant it. "I...guess you have my number."

"_Yeah. I'll give you mine when I get there, if I can_." There was a pause, as though he was trying to get up the courage to say something. She waited, knowing if given the time he would get around to what he was trying to say.

"_Um, we're going to put into port at Balamb, to get extra SeeDs and equipment. Would you like to meet me there?_"

"I would love to. What time?" She could practically feel his relief.

"_Um, maybe 1400?_"

"Okay, I'm free then. I'll be there." she promised.

"_See you then! Goodbye_."

"Goodbye." She hung up the phone only after she heard the click on the other end.

* * *

Seifer stood in the shadow of Balamb Garden. It had taken him several days to come here. He couldn't even explain his running away action himself. But when he had seen the sleek, shimmering Garden arriving he just couldn't take it anymore. It was everything he wanted to be, everything he could never be. Sure, he could potentially become a SeeD in name, but never in reality. In reality, his hands would always be a little too stained with the blood of innocents for him to ever accept himself, for him to ever do his job and not remember that the people he now helped were the people he once hunted. And so, he'd run. _Ah, the basic instinct of life. Run when something bigger and better than you can ever be comes. _He smiled slightly. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him.

_Come on Seifer. You can do this. You have to, if you want to make amends. And you do want to make amends, so you have to go in there. Maybe I should get a disguise, people will want to kill me, _he shook his head, clearing the thoughts. _Just be yourself. Well, my improved self anyway. If I was my old self?_ He needed to stop over analyzing everything, like a certain Instructor he knew. And even a certain Commander, to some extent. He needed to get this over with. He took a deep breath, and entered Balamb Garden.

The gatekeeper looked in surprise at him as he entered. "A-are you allowed in here?"

"Yes, I am." Seifer walked passed the stunned guard, and entered Balamb Garden. He walked up the familiar path, through the foyer.

"Seifer?" asked a voice behind him. He turned around, and was surprised to see Quistis standing in the entrance of the library. She walked over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"My dear Instructor, what a lovely surprise!" he asked, ignoring her question and giving a slight bow. Quistis merely raised her eyebrows as she stopped infront of him.

"It's good to see you too, Seifer." she said. "However, you are probably unaware that I still haven't received my permanent credentials yet. I am merely a temporary Instructor, until I have been tested."

"I know." _Damn, I thought she had her credentials back already. Isn't saving the world enough these days? _"But, naturally, I cannot pass up the opportunity to rub it in your face."

"I thought so," she said, shaking her head, an almost amused look on her face. "There are some things that don't change."

"Yeah well, life would be pretty boring if some things weren't the same. Like my charming personality."

"Uh-huh." They stood there for a moment. "Aren't you going to ask how I'm doing? And you haven't answered my question."

"Oh yeah." There was another pause. "So, how is the great Instructor, with her own personal fan club? What have you been doing?"

"I'm fine. And I've been looking for you." That made Seifer stare.

"What?" he asked, unsure of what he had heard.

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay. You were my student, and therefore my responsibility."

"Well, save your concern for someone who needs it."

"I'll make sure I check up on you then."

_Oh, I set myself up for that. Damn, I'm getting slow. Wait, I'm supposed to be changing. Great, this is going to be harder than taking my SeeD exam three times. Maybe I should make a run for it. Maybe I should go to jail, at least I'll be safe there. _

"Seifer, are you all right?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. But what are you doing here?"

"I'm coming back. Life just isn't the same without you wonderful people to taunt."

"You do realize that people want to kill you, right? And they think you're dead. If someone sees you they may take matters into their own hands to make sure the rumor you're dead is true."

"I'll be absolutely, totally fine. Remember, I scarred your wonderful commander. I could do it again." Quistis just shook her head, and waved goodbye as she continued toward the library. Seifer waved goodbye back, and got into the elevator. He pressed the 3 floor, to once again enter the office he had seen way too many times during his stay at Garden.

* * *

Zell was standing on the bow of the ship, looking out at the wide expanse of sea. This frigid ocean was all that stood between him and Balamb. He kept straining his eyes, trying to see Balamb port, but it was still too far away.

_Oh man, what if she isn't there? What if she had something else to do? What if she doesn't want to be there? What if... _There were a million things running through his mind, most of which were along the 'what if...' line of thought. The part of him thinking about it wanted to slow down time, if possible.

Finally, they were at the port. And there she was, waving frantically in his direction. He waved back, smiling brightly. _She came! Oh YEAH!_ As soon as the transport docked, he jumped down to meet her.

"Hey there." he said, gathering the courage to reach out and hug her. "I...missed you," he admitted.

"I missed you too," she said, smiling as she hugged him back. He nodded toward the plains, visible over the buildings of Balamb. "I have a few hours while they load the transport and send in the new members of the team. Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Sure." she said, and they walked hand in hand out of Balamb, and into the plains near the ocean. They just walked in silence for a while, basking in each others company. They stopped on a small hill overlooking the sea, and sat down.

They didn't actually say anything, but they didn't need to. They just enjoyed the simple pleasure of being near a person you care about, and who also cares about you.

* * *

"What do you mean, Cid thought you'd work well with me?" Zell demanded of the man standing in front of him. "Where did he get that idea?"

"How the hell would I know? Does it look like I am Cid?"

"Yes." Zell snapped irritably.

"Oh, that hurts. That really hurts. But I am not Cid, and I do not know everything about Cid's decisions. I do not comprehend his psychological reasoning."

"That man needs a shrink. I don't want to work with you!"

"Hey, don't think I was so excited about working with you either. But I have a job to do, and that is-"

"To make a fool of yourself? You do that well enough, Seifer." Zell snapped back, his voice full of venom.

"Only in your fantasy realm, only in your fantasy realm." Seifer said, cool as he always was.

"Hey, what's with all the arguing?" demanded a voice. They both turned at once.

"Selphie? What are you doing here?" Zell asked.

"Cid sent another part of the loser team besides the chicken-wuss to work with me. Great." Seifer muttered.

"What did you just call me!" shouted Zell, losing his temper. He advanced toward Seifer, fists raised.

"Temper, Dincht, temper." Seifer said, smirking. "Don't want to lose what little rank you have." Zell made a strangled noise of outrage. Selphie decided to intervene, before someone got hurt.

"Enough, both of you. Don't make me separate you." she threatened, grinning. It was like talking to children.

"I wasn't doing anything but talking. And this is a free country." Seifer said, annoyed.

"Wouldn't have been if you'd had your way." Zell muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"You never answered my question, Selphie. What are you doing here? Come to think of it, why are you here Seifer?" Zell said.

"Cid said if I pull this mission off without killing any of you people, and do it well, I can get a SeeD ranking. After I pass the test, of course, but that shouldn't be hard." Seifer spoke toward Selphie, ignoring Zell. "He wants to start the ranking low, but with my far superior abilities I can  
easily rise to a rank higher than Zell's." He pointed toward Zell, who was still standing a few feet from Seifer, trembling in rage.

"Okay, here are the rules." Selphie said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why do you get to make up the rules?" asked Seifer.

"Because this is my first command mission!" Selphie said excitedly, jumping up and down. "Anyway, as I was saying, no fighting and no acknowledging each other's existence. Okay?"

"Sure. He doesn't have much of a life anyway." Seifer said, and walked back out the door. Selphie turned to Zell.

"Are you agreeing or not?"

"Sure."

"Good. Man, this is really sad." Selphie admitted as the boat began to leave.

"What is?" Zell asked, curious.

"I'm the voice of reason."

* * *

Seifer looked out at the ocean. The azure depths glinted as they reflected the sun from the noon sky. He drew another breath, then exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. He leaned against the rail for support. _Hyne, I really screwed up down there. Why did I have to bait Zell? Was it just a natural reaction? I regret my actions, but how can I prove that, especially after all that has happened? _He took another breath, letting the smoke fill his lungs. He knew it was bad for him, but who cared? He certainly didn't. This was the next best thing to drinking to help him forget about his life. And it wouldn't do to be drunk on the mission. He snuffed the cigarette on the railing, then went back below.

Seifer found Zell and Selphie in the room where he had left them, lounging on the chairs. "Headmaster Cid said I was to brief you on what you don't know."

Selphie sat up straighter. "Well, let's get going. Are we the only SeeDs?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Except for this one Galbadian, which I'll get into later," Seifer said.

"Great. Oh well, let's just have the briefing here. Then I don't have to move."

Seifer shrugged. "Fine. I don't care." He walked up to the front of the room, and pulled up a picture of Deling City.

"This is Deling City."

"No, really?" Zell said sarcastically, annoyed. He flicked a rubber band at Seifer. Seifer ducked, and took several cleansing breaths, so he didn't retaliate violently with his gunblade.

"We land in Dollet sometime this evening, and transport to Deling by train. Cid wants us to enter the city under the pretense we are looking for a terrorist who supposedly threatened General Caraway's life. This won't be considered unusual, and no one else will care, because there is a power struggle going on. Everyone is vying to become the president. Unfortunately, this makes our job harder. Because everyone has a private army, we have no idea who attacked Dollet and stole the AI chip."

"Wouldn't it be the G-Army? After all, we saw them wearing standard G-Army equipment." Zell pointed out.

"G-Army equipment is abundant in Galbadia. Anyone could have taken some, and used it to attack Dollet. The Galbadians captured wouldn't give us much information. All they would say was that with Deling in turmoil, the army sort of became a mercenary group. They were hired by someone - no one knew who - to take the AI chip, in it's box, back to Deling. The general was one of the ones who got away, and he was the only one with more information."

"Why did they want the chip in the first place?" asked Selphie.

"Because all the other chips were destroyed in the Sorceress War. Which brings me to the next topic, information about the AI chip. Not really much is known. They were created a little before the war, to make Galbadia stronger. The X-ATM092 you guys had to fight was a model of them experimenting with AI technology."

"That thing was so mean! It wouldn't die." complained Selphie. Seifer just raised his eyebrow at the outburst, then continued.

"The AI chips are still experimental, so they will have flaws. Any flaws we can discover and exploit will help us. Once we enter the city, another SeeD contact will meet us. Cid wanted someone with knowledge of Deling, and so he chose a student from Galbadia Garden, which is no longer under Martine's jurisdiction. It is headed by a Balamb SeeD until a replacement can be found."

"Couldn't Irvine have come along had helped us? He's from Galbadia Garden, and he's sure to have been in Deling City a lot," said Selphie.

"He's on another mission right now," Seifer said. "The SeeD will meet us at the Rent-A-Car sign, near the entrance to Deling. We don't know anything about the person yet, because when we left a SeeD still hadn't been chosen. We who it is because they will come up to us and use a specific hand gesture, to which we must have the countersign." Seifer demonstrated a series of complicated hand movements.

"Why don't you handle the countersign?" suggested Zell, knowing he would never remember that.

"Don't worry, I will. If you have no more questions, that's it. Once we're in we look around."

"Alright! This sound like fun!" Selphie said, jumping up and down. "Can I blow stuff up? Can I drive? Will there be big parties?" Seifer looked surprised by Selphie's outburst.

"This is normal." Zell informed him. Seifer sighed.

"You _could _blow up stuff and you _could _drive, but you _won't_. As for parties, how would I know? Does it look like I can predict the future?"

"I don't know. How do people who can predict the future look?" she asked. Seifer heaved another big sigh. He could already tell this was going to be a long mission, and it was getting longer.

"I don't know," he said, deciding to humor her and hope she didn't continue along this line of 'Selphie-logic'. However, she ignored his silent pleas and kept speaking.

"Well then, how can I know if you look like you can predict the future?" she asked. Zell appeared to be hiding a smile. _What are you laughing about, chicken-wuss? _he snapped mentally, and satisfied himself with mentally wiping the smirk of Zell's face with his gunblade.

"That's an expression, Selphie. Geez, you don't need to take everything so literally. That's more something I would expect from Squall," Seifer said.

"No, from Squall you get either silence or a 'whatever'," Selphie informed him, grinning.

"True," Zell added, joining the conversation. "Of course, you always predict what he's going to say."

"Really?" asked a voice from behind them. They turned around to see Squall standing there.

"Hey there! If it isn't my favorite commander!" Seifer said brightly. "How about a hug for your best friend?"

"Knock it off, Seifer," Squall spat. Seifer backed up a step. Squall didn't normally show contempt for people openly. _Guess he's still mad about Lunatic Pandora, reasoned Seifer. And I don't blame him. I'm still mad at me for Lunatic Pandora._

"Knock what off?" asked Selphie and Zell together. The both started to laugh, while Squall just stood there, and they could tell he was not amused. Seifer remained silent as well, surprised to see two people who'd once been slightly unnerved and silent near Squall joking with him. And Squall didn't seem that opposed to it either. _I guess the rest of the world is really changing. And I don't have a part in it anymore, do I?_ he wondered, sighing. They kept laughing, until him tapping his foot began to get on their nerves. They stood still, and Zell tossed him a salute, although neither of them stopped smiling.

"...Whatever." he said, which made them start laughing again. He waited until the laughter had subsided. "Seifer briefed you on the mission already?"

"Yeah. But he said it was just the three of us for now. Why are you here?" asked Zell.

"I'm just coming with you to Dollet. From there I have another mission."

"I thought SeeD was going to move away from the mercenary path," Seifer said. Squall glared at him again.

"We are. My mission isn't for a client. I'm not supposed to give you details. The less you know, the better. Then no one can get the information from you," Squall said, and walked away from them. They all looked at each other.

"What do you think the mission is?" asked Selphie. But no one had an answer.

* * *

Although Peptuck3 didn't review, I would like to thank him for allowing me to use one of his ideas. In his novelization of Final Fantasy VIII, The Gunblade Saga (which is excellent), he created the idea of the X-ATM092 having an AI chip. If you haven't read the story yet, you should! It's really, really good. 


	4. Chapter 3

I had this great dream last night. Squaresoft gave me the deed to Final Fantasy VIII. Unfortunately, then I woke up. The deed mysteriously vanished.

**Chapter Three: Presidential candidates **

When they arrived in Dollet later that day, Squall left. They tried to follow him, but he easily evaded them, ducking down a side alley and into a park. They'd searched the whole park, but they didn't see him leave anywhere. Now they stood in line at the ticket booth, waiting to get their train tickets.

"I cannot believe this!" Selphie exclaimed, pacing around. "We should know what that mission is about! After all, Squall said it was connected to ours. So, naturally, we should know!"

"Selphie, I learned along time ago that nothing the Garden staff does makes sense. I've just learned to deal with it, and get on with my life," Seifer said.

"Oh yes, you deal with people real well," Zell said.

"You're right, I do," Seifer said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. _Must not retaliate, must not kill... _

"Yeah, but what if this is important?" argued Selphie, oblivious to the tension that had risen around her. Or perhaps she was ignoring it and keeping up her spirits, as was her usual way to deal with problems. "It may be information that will help us do our job better!"

"That maybe true, but what if something happens to us, and we're caught? Then they know everything," reasoned Zell. "It's just safer this way." As they argued, the line had moved forward. Now they were at the ticket booth. A young woman smiled at them.

"Hello. What would you like today?"

"Hello. I'd like three tickets to Deling City, in the SeeD car," Seifer said.

"Id?" the woman asked.

"What?" Seifer said, confused.

"She wants to see the SeeD id, Seifer. Something you don't have yet," Zell said, flashing the id at her. She punched in the number, then nodded. "Don't you remember anything about our training?"

"I remember how to use my gunblade. Want me to show you?"

"That's not what I meant, you idiot," Zell muttered as he gave the woman the gil.

"I know that," rejoined Seifer as he took the tickets the woman handed them. A jumping Selphie lead the way to the car, and jumped on. A few minutes later, the train started to move.

"Open the door!" Selphie said, jumping up and down. "Please?"

"One momen,." Seifer said, who was looking around the entrance landing. "Nice car you SeeDs get. Can I buy one?" he asked, sarcastically.

"No. And this isn't the car. The actually car is down that hallway," Zell said, annoyed, as he pointed to a closed door. "Can't you ever be serious? This could endanger the mission."

"Sure, I can be serious if I want to. I just decided the situatation required some humor."

"Train, train, take us away..." Selphie sang in a slightly off-key tone, swaying slightly. Seifer raised his eyebrow.

"Quick, open the door! Swipe your ticket in that slot!" Zell said, making hurry motions with his hands. Seifer looked startled at this, but quickly complied.

"Tee-hee. Thanks!" she said, and ran into the hallway. Seifer just stared.

"Does she always do that?" he asked, looking shocked.

"Yeah, all the time," Zell replied, and walked into the room. Seifer looked around for another moment, then followed Zell. Selphie was standing in the corridor, singing the train song. Seifer quickly entered the door on his left. He looked around the well furnished car.

"Now this is more like it," Seifer said. Zell was already sitting on the couch, bouncing up and down. _Yeah, this'll be a long mission, _Seifer thought as he sat on the other end of the couch. He could still faintly hear the notes of Selphie's slightly cracked voice as she continued to sing, and the couch swayed up and down as Zell moved.

"How can she sing the same four lines over and over again?" Seifer asked, annoyed.

"With Selphie, you never know. But trust me, this can and will go on for hours, or until she needs a drink break." Seifer nodded, enlightened. _Long doesn't even begin to describe this mission. _Between the noise and the movement Seifer started to get a headache. He moved off the couch, and sat down on the bed, picking up a magazine laying nearby. It was about dogs, but he needed something to read. An hour later, Selphie came in, grabbed a bottle of water from the refridgerator tucked out of the way in the corner, and sat on the rug in the middle of the room. She couldn't take the silence that Zell and Seifer had been living in, though. She turned to Seifer, who had finished reading the magazine for the third time and was putting it down again.

"Haven't seen you much since Lunatic Pandora, Seifer. Where have you been?"

"Around."

"Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"How has your health been?"

"Other than being chased to near death, okay."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Sure, because women _love_ it when men are on the run from the law. What's with all the questions anyway? I've already been through several interrogations, I don't want to go through another one."

"Well, I don't know much about your life, and I wanted to see how you've been. Besides, it's good to know who you're going to be on a mission with."

"Ah, that explains it," Seifer muttered sarcastically.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

"When is your birthday?"

"December 22."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one, soon to be twenty-two."

"Um..." She was quiet for a few minutes, thinking of something else to say. "What is your favorite flower?"

"Selphie, shut up." They sat in silence.

* * *

"Deling City!" called the conductor. "Everyone for Deling City, this is your stop!" Selphie, Zell and Seifer exited the train, and walked to the stairs that led to Deling City, and the Rent-A-Car.

As they stepped onto the street, they immediately noticed how cold it was out. They all shivered, especially Selphie, in her short yellow dress. As they approached the Rent-A-Car, they noticed a lone man standing under the sign. They stood still for several moments, and the man moved his hand in a complicated series of motions. Seifer performed the countersign. After  
looking around for a few moments, to make sure that no one had noticed the exchange, the person approached them. He was a little under six feet tall, with short sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.

"You're the SeeDs who were dispatched from Balamb Garden?" asked the man.

"Yup!" Selphie said, jumping up and down. "I'm Selphie Tilmitt, and this is Zell Dincht and-"

"I know who that is," said the man, annoyed. Seifer waved nervously.

"Um, how are you Gary?" Seifer asked.

"Fine," Gary said, annoyed.

"So, you know Seifer?" Zell asked casually.

"He's only just the guy who nearly got me killed, and kissed my girlfriend!"

"Hey, that was five years ago, and she told me that she didn't have a boyfriend!" Seifer said, swiftly defending himself. "And with the near killing thing, I didn't know you were that weak with a T-Rexaur running after you! Geez, when you tell someone you need assistance, you should specify." Zell started to snigger behind his hand.

"That's Seifer. He's a little messed up in the attic," Zell said, then started to laugh again. Seifer resisted the urge to kill.

"Anyway, I'm here to assist you. I'm Gary Sevrin," he held out his hand to Selphie and Zell, and they both shook it. Gary gestured toward the city. "Shall we head toward General Caraway's?" he asked. They nodded, and together started down the street. Gary and Seifer made sure they stayed on separate sides from each other.

They reached General Caraway's mansion, and knocked on the door. A maid answered.

"Yes?" she asked, surveying them. Seifer answered.

"We're here to see General Caraway. He's expecting us."

"One moment." She closed the door, and they could hear her receding footsteps echoing in the hall. After five minutes, she came back. "He'll see you now," she said, and led them into library. They were barely there a minute when General Caraway burst in.

"Okay, here's the deal. There is an upcoming event, and everyone important in Galbadia will be there. There you will guard me, as well as gathering information. But we will discuss this tomorrow. The maid will lead you to your rooms. Breakfast is at eight. Please do not disturb me, I will be working tonight," he said in one breath, then left them, rushing out of the room again. They all just stared.

"Is it just me, or is General Caraway?a little preoccupied?" asked Selphie.

"He wasn't like this the last time we talked to him," Zell said. The maid came up to them.

"Follow me," she said, and lead them down several corridors. She pointed to four doors. "Those are your rooms." She marched away. Seifer's eyebrows rose.

"Wow, everyone sure is abrupt around here. I wonder what's going on?" he wondered out loud. Everyone just shrugged.

"I guess there's something going on we don't know about," Selphie said.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Gary announced, and walked into the first door on the right. "Me too," said Zell, and walked into the other door on the right. Seifer and Selphie looked at one another and shrugged. Then Seifer took the first door on the left, and Selphie the remaining room.

* * *

Selphie looked around the room. Everyone had been up by eight the next morning, and assembled in the dining room, which a surly maid pointed out to them, before stomping away.

"Man, the service around here needs to pick up a bit. The room was musty, a huge bell went off at 5:00 in the morning, everyone uses sentences of five words or less if they can because they're like these Squall clones, it's 8:45 and the breakfast hasn't arrived!" complained Seifer, looking out the window. "Even the service at Garden was better!"

"There was no service at Garden, unless you count the cooks," Zell said.

"That was my point."

"I have an idea for passing the time!" Selphie said, waving her hand in the air, as though she was in class, nearly hitting Zell in the head.

"Hey, watch it!" he snapped, annoyed.

"Sorry! But you need to hear my idea!" Selphie said.

"Well, what is it?" said Gary.

"We can pass the time by playing chess."

"Why do you think chess is remotely interesting?" asked Seifer. "You seem like you'd usually play anything else."

"I don't, but that's the only game I see in here," Selphie said, pointing to the chessboard under the large picture windows. Seifer just sighed, and went back to contemplating the paintings adorning the walls. General Caraway walked in.

"I ask that you forgive me and my workers for being to abrupt last night, but we have a situation here. The maids know nothing specific, but even they know about the power struggle that has been going on."

"Power struggle?" Selphie asked.

"Yes. There was a lot of turmoil after Deling was killed. A temporary president stepped up, but a real election needs to occur before people being to get angry."

"Who was the temporary president?"

"General Wilkie."

"Is he running for president?"

"Yes, he is."

"Did he have access to the army?"

"Not after the Second Sorceress War. Ever since then they've had no real leader, so several of them decided to get them to become mercenaries. General Wilkie was supposed to be leading them, but he was busy with the presidental duties, so the responsibility fell to me. I don't know how to get them under control again..."

"Who's the most prominent candidate for president?" asked Seifer. He didn't want to seem rude, but he didn't care about Caraway's personal problems. He had something else to worry about. _Maybe if I can pull this off really well I'll get into SeeD. Maybe this will help me repay what I have taken. His personal problems can't get in the way of this. It can't. I've come so close...  
_  
"A senator, Vinzer Deling's nephew, Darius. But I will tell you more while looking at these packets." He gave each of them packets, with photos and information on the candidates. "As I was saying, Darius Deling in the prime candidate, and he has a lot of support. Unfortunately, I recently learned he's involved in illegal activities. I don't have any specifics yet, but I know someone who does know. Her name is Natalie Illuna. She's an information broker, and I know she doesn't do anything illegal. I know she'll help us. But you need to contact her at the party this evening, as it will be your only chance. No one knows where she lives."

_Hm, we're supposed to just trust some person we've never heard of before, just because you say so? I don't know if I want to do that. After all, we only have Caraway's word, and he could be wrong about her. We'll need to be careful_, Seifer thought.

"Interesting." Zell said. "Is Miss Illuna a candidate, or trying to become one?"

"No, Natalie prefers to work behind the scenes. Other candidates are Horace Wilkie, Marcus Deling, Kayla Friedman, and Mariana Skye. Marcus Deling is another nephew of Vinzer, but he has the least amount of support. Just enough that anyone who wants to could give him a substantial sum of money, so he can drop out of the race and tell his supporters 'this is the man to vote for'. I've seen many people approach him already, on behalf of all the other candidates. Marcus is also subservient to Darius when it come to orders and threats."

"So Darius will probably get his votes?"

"Yes. Horace Wilkie is a general, the one I mentioned before, and damned good one at that. Not as good as me, but good. I was his leader once. He's right under Darius in support. The battle is bound to be between those two. Personally, I think it would be better if he won, but that probably won't happen. Kayla Friedman is a private citizen, but has been a worker behind the scenes for years. During the later years of Vinzer's life, until Sorceress Edea came, she was the puppet master for Deling. Mariana Skye is an acclaimed senator. She has a clean record, but won't win, I can guarantee that."

"So who should we keep an eye on?"

"Darius Deling, Marcus Deling, and Kayla Friedman. Now, to continue with tonight's events. We will arrive at seven, and you will have until eleven to locate and speak to Natalie. You can identify her from the picture in the back of the packet I gave you. I don't care about the rest of your activities. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some work to complete." And with that, Caraway exited the room.

"Now what?" Seifer asked.

"We need to create a plan," Selphie said. She was about to outline a plan, but a knock at the door interrupted her. She turned, annoyed, then smiled.

"Hey Quistis! What're you doing here?" she asked.

"I've been sent as a replacement for you."

"What?" Selphie asked, confused.

"Your knowledge of Trabia is needed on a different mission, so I have been sent to replace you."

"Oh, that's great! Was that Irvine's mission?"

"Yes."

"Great! We're just about to create a plan." Selphie quickly outlined everything they had learned. Quistis nodded.

"Okay. Here's your ticket, Selphie. You leave in three hours. Good luck."

"Thanks!" she said, and scampered off to pack. Quistis turned to the others.

"Here's what I think would work best. Two people should go out into Deling to gather information from the streets about the candidates. There are mostly rumors out there, but in every lie there is a grain of truth. So anything at all will probably help. Someone needs to stay here; obviously, to keep up the pretense there is a threat to Caraway's life. Also-"

"Wait a moment," Gary snapped. "Why are you creating the plan? Why don't we get any say in this? I was told I was the leader."

"Balamb Garden informed me I was leading this mission," Quistis said, frowning. "My orders specifically stated that."

"That is against my orders, which stated that in the case Miss Tilmitt needed to leave for any reason, or was otherwise incapable of performing her duty, I was to assume command. Why don't we call Garden and straighten this out?" he asked.

"Okay," she said, and pulled out the portable phone, then walked over into a corner. Everyone else started to talk as she dialed the Balamb Garden number, then waited while the secretary answered.

"_Hello, this is Balamb Garden. Please state your name and whom you wish to speak to,_" the secretary said in a false cheerful voice.

"I'm SeeD Quistis Trepe, and I would like to speak to Commander Squall Leonhart."

"_One moment please_." There was a click on the other end, and an annoyed voice answered at the other end.

"_Is this important, Quistis? I'm really busy right now_."

"Yes, it is. I was told in my orders I was commanding this mission, but Galbadia Garden SeeD Gary Sevrin was informed he was in command. We were wondering whose orders was correct."

"_Give me a minute,_" he muttered, and she heard the clicking of computer keys on the other end. Squall's voice came back.

"_According to this, Gary Sevrin is in command now, because Selphie went to Trabia,_" Squall said. Quistis stared at the phone in horror. In the background Seifer and Zell were arguing again, but that didn't register in her head.

"Why?" she whispered. "This was supposed to be my test..."

"_Look, I know you really wanted to command mission, but Mr. Sevrin has more knowledge of Galbadia, and we need to show Galbadia Garden there are no hard feelings. Everything is purely political right now. I really want to help you, because I know you want that license, and I'll see what I can do. But Cid wants it this way. I don't think there is much I can do._"

"But if I command while he supplies information-" Quistis began, but Squall but her off.

"_Look, what you want to do isn't a part of this decision. You are to follow orders, understood? Besides, Cid isn't ready to test you, even though you now have your temporary license. He wants to make sure you can handle being an Instructor_."

"Yes sir," she muttered.

"_I'm truely sorry_,"

"Me too," she whispered and turned the phone off. She took a deep breath, plastered on a false smile, and returned to the group.

"Well, it turns out my orders were messed up," she said. "So, what should we do, sir?"

Gary looked pleased with himself. "Everyone will reconnoiter, while I stay here. Seifer, you have upper Deling, Zell has middle Deling, and Quistis has lower Deling. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Great. Be back here by 1100 hours." They saluted, and exited the mansion.

* * *

Seifer wanted the chance to talk to Quistis, but he didn't have that chance right now. He thought about what he had seen, as he walked through the streets, when Quistis had delivered the news. He had seen the smile she was wearing was false, and the disappointed aura around her was obvious, at least to him. But he knew the others hadn't seen it, because they weren't used to seeing such things. But Seifer knew a mask when he saw one. Hell, he used masks all the time, although they were masks of malice and spite, not happiness. But her performance was every bit as fake as his. In reality, many things bothered and concerned him. He had been truly upset when he thought they might die in Timber, and many other times to, when he wasn't blinded by Ultimecia's visions.

He remembered how Fujin and Raijin had helped him, telling him that maybe he was also blinded by his dream. He remembered the impact Fujin not speaking in her usual manner had had on him. And as he stood before Adel, he had finally looked beyond the illusion, the dream, and seen reality.

And he remembered growing up in the orphanage. Ellone had always protected them, but Quistis was always there for them mentally, because she had always been much more mature than them. She always kept their spirits up, even when they wanted nothing more than to die, during every night when they cried for their fallen parents, everytime they fell she picked them up and told them they could do it, they just needed to try again.

Seifer shook his head. Now wasn't the time to remember past mistakes and friends. He should probably worry about Quistis' reaction, as he was the only one who had seen it. But briefly, he wondered where Fujin and Raijin were. They were his only friends, and had always supported him. When this was over, he should go find them.

_I know she's disappointed about the leadership thing. I heard she needed to successfully command a mission to get her full credentials, but I also think it's something else. I don't know what was said, but something that was said really upset her. Maybe I can talk to her later_. He continued to wander the streets, looking around. Really, Deling looked kind of pretty. At least, the nicer section of Deling. He hadn't noticed, the last time he was here. He had been kind of distracted by the people cheering him on, and the battle with his rival.

_Man, It's been a while since I've actually worried about someone. But Quistis was my friend, no matter what back then. And she never gave up on me when I was a student. I owe her something, way more than I owe the others. When I'm done I should talk to her. _

He walked back to the house at 11:00, and gave Gary his report. Then he went to Selphie's old room, and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he tried the door. It was open, so he walked in, but she wasn't there. He walked through the rest of the house, trying to see where she had gone. Maybe she isn't back yet, he thought. Just then he nearly walked into a glass door, which looked out on a beautiful garden.

He walked out into it, inhaling the fragrant scent that wafted from the colorful flowers that lined the extensive paths. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, and lit it up. It had been a long day, and it would probably get longer. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He watched the smoke curl into the sky above him for a moment, then started forward, to where ever the path would take him. Seifer wandered the paths, and soon came across a pond, with a tree near it. And Quistis was sitting under the tree, staring at the depths of the pond. He walked over.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, sitting down next to her. She looked up, startled, and he could see she had been crying.

"Oh, hello Seifer. Nice day, isn't it?" she said, trying to sounding like her normal self, except her voice cracked and she was wiping furiously at the wetness on her cheeks.

"Don't evade the question. What's the matter?" he asked again.

"I told you, nothing."

"Quistis, please. I know an act when I see one. Now come on." She sighed, and dropped the happy act. She didn't know what it was that made her do it, just something that told her she didn't need to pretend to be strong right now.

"Oh, I was just upset because I didn't get to lead the mission. I really wanted to, but Squall said I couldn't because we need to 'show Galbadia Garden there are no hard feelings', or some damn thing like that." Seifer's eyebrow rose. Quistis may have been furious on more than one occasion before, but he could never remember her being so angry she had started to swear. At least, not in public, which was really the only time he ever did see her any more.

"I'm sorry." she muttered a moment later. "It's just...ever since I became a temporary Instructor, I've wanted to actually lead a mission, to prove that I can be a good Instructor again. And...and now, now I'm stuck as a minion again, just when I though I had my chance!" she hissed, clenching her fists.

"And?" he prompted, knowing there had to be more to the story.

"And...he said I couldn't lead the mission because Cid doubts my abilities, and Squall won't back me up in thinking I'm pretty good." she finally said, burying her face in her hands and sniffling. Seifer gave her time to recover, knowing she would finish what she was saying when she wanted to.

"I'm such a failure." she whispered. "They were right, I was too young. I've failed."

"Why do you believe that?" he asked mildly. She looked over at him again.

"Do you think I'm a good Instructor? And tell the truth!" she added, attempting to glare at him from behind her tears.

"Honestly, I think you are a very good Instructor. You really helped me with my tests, and you have always helped students. More often than not, your students succeed and have great careers. Look at Squall, and wasn't Nida your student too? There's nothing wrong with that, I just don't think Squall understands what the reality is. Besides, are you really going to believe what Squall thinks about people? Come on, Squall doesn't know _anything _about people. Absolutely nothing." Quistis sniffed.

"Thanks Seifer. Really, that means a lot. And it's all the more important because you said it seriously and meant it," She smiled. "Do you really think that I'll be able to get my permanent license?"

"Of course you can," he said. "Come on, let's go back in. Just prove to everyone you're better at everything than they think you are." And together they walked back toward Caraway's mansion.


	5. Chapter 4

I am a mere high school student who doesn't own the computer I am typing on. You cannot possibly expect me to own Final Fantasy.

**Chapter Four: Summer Ball **

Zell had recently returned from patrolling his section of Deling City. Right now, he was sitting on the couch in a room Caraway had provided them. Gary cursed violently in several different languages, making Zell jump.

"What the matter?" asked Zell.

"Nothing that I can't handle. A government site almost figured out I was hacking their files," said Gary, typing furiously, his fingers flying over the keys. He hissed something, probably instructions, to himself under his breath.

"And why are you hacking a government computer?"

"To find out about the Dollet raid, of course. That is our job, you know," Gary breathed a sign of relief.

"There, bypassed the flag," Zell went back to reading the paper he had been scanning before the interruption. **Presidential Candidates to Appear at Summer Ball **announced the bold title of the Deling Times. He scanned the article. Apparently, the candidates weren't just meeting the public together tonight. They were also going to be participating in a political debate. Great, he hated those.

A bell chimed somewhere from within the room. 3:00. _Maybe I should call Melissa soon_, he thought. After all, he had promised to whenever he had time, and right now he had nothing to do. Might as well. Well, of course he _wanted _to.

Zell jumped off the couch, and walked out of their temporary base of operations, toward the room that had been assigned to him last night. He briefly remembered seeing a phone in there, before he had fallen into the oblivion known as sleep. _I really should call before I get too tired or busy._ Yesterday had been exhausting, and today was probably going to be worse. After all, Seifer was here, and that was bad enough.

_And speak of the devil._ _Quite literally, too,_ thought Zell as he watched Seifer coming back into the house. For some reason, Quistis was with him too, although she looked like she had been crying, because her eyes were all red. He stopped.

"Quistis, what's the matter?" asked Zell, concerned. He had never seen Quistis visibly upset about anything. Even the time she had broken her leg in the Training Center she hadn't screamed or cried.

"I've just been upset, because I didn't get to command the mission and prove to the Instructor board that I can become an Instructor again," said Quistis, sighing. "And Squall won't back me on my Instructing skills and experience, and Cid thinks I'm not ready."

"WHAT! That's stupid. You're a great Instructor!" said Zell, shocked.

"I know. That's what Seifer said too," said Quistis. Zell frowned. Why would Seifer be nice? he wondered. "But still, I wanted to prove this to finally get my credentials reinstated," she said, sighing and tucking a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face. Now she was starting to act more like a normal Quistis.

"Hey, maybe if Gary becomes ill or wounded you'll get your chance!" Zell said brightly. "Or you could poison him! Or, we can find proof he's working for the other side!"

"Don't say things like that. They aren't nice, and it's not right to frame an innocent person. Besides, didn't your mother ever tell you that if you say bad things they become true?" Quistis said warningly.

"Yeah, but it won't happen. Who's ever heard of a evil member of SeeD? Well, I need to go."

"And do what? Call your girlfriend?" asked Seifer, smirking as Zell turned bright red. Quistis sighed. He would never give up taunting Zell. This would most likely go on until one of them died.

"Let it go, Seifer." she said.

"Yes my dear Instructor," he said, mock saluting, and strutted away. Zell muttered something very rude under his breath, then walked toward his room in Caraway's mansion.

* * *

Quistis walked through a couple hallways, and into the room that Zell had just exited a few minutes before. Gary was sitting in front of the computer, completely oblivious to the world around him.

"What's the matter?" she asked. Gary spun around, shocked.

"Where did you come from?" he demanded. "Oh god, you gave me a heart attack." He exited the file on his computer, quit the internet, and turned back to her.

"What are you here for?" Quistis blinked, confused.

"I just got back." _Well, okay, that wasn't the whole truth, but he didn't need to know that_. "I came to give you my report." Gary looked at her blankly. "My report on the city?" she prompted. Gary nodded, suddenly understanding.

"Oh, yes. What is it?"

"There is quite a bit of talk going on in Deling, mostly rumors, about the candidates, and I even saw people betting on the winner. Nothing physical seems to have changed since I last came here, and there was nothing concrete."

"That was during the Sorceress parade, correct?" said Gary. Quistis nodded. "Good, I was here after that, which means my information is still accurate. Excellent," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. Quistis watched this for a few minutes, then coughed politely. Gary looked up.

"Oh yeah, you're dismissed," Quistis nodded, and walked out of the room, toward the room Selphie had vacated this morning, after she had arrived. _Great, I would've remembered that. Come on Quistis, give the kid a chance. He's probably just nervous about being in command. And, after all, he is in a group with us, and we only saved the world or try to destroy humankind and freedom as we know it, nothing much. But I'm sure Seifer's sorry about that. At least, he seems to be sorry about it. He just has problems admitting to good emotions, not unlike someone else we all know._ She knew of several students, both ones in her class and in other classes, who had been frightened of her, because of her 'hero' _status. I just wish the Trepies were scared of me,_ she thought, knowing it was merely a fool's dream.

"Seifer to Quistis. Come in, Quistis. Please respond from your sector of space." Quistis blinked, then glared at Seifer.

"Is that how you talk to everyone?"

"Generally," he said dismissively. "Hungry? They have lunch ready." Quistis blinked once again. _Seifer sure is having quick personality changes,_ she thought. _Oh well, I guess working for Ultimecia can change a person drastically. _

"Sure," she said. "What does it taste like?"

"I personally sampled it, and it tastes worst than the cafeteria surprise soup."

"Ugh," Quistis wrinkled her nose at the mere mention of the foul, reproccessed abominations. "Is that even possible?"

"I am positive, Instructor, after having this food."

"Stop calling me that."

"When you stop being an Instructor."

"That may happen sooner than you think."

"You're just delusional," Seifer scoffed, then started toward the dining room, with Quistis following him. _Kind of sad that that's the nicest thing he's ever said to me,_ she thought.

"What's for lunch?" she asked.

"Something that may have once been asparagus, although I'm not sure. It might just have been mold." Quistis looked over at him. He appeared serious.

"You're joking, right?" she said.

"Wish I was. You'd think a general could get better food. I'm starting to miss the cafeteria food of Balamb Garden."

"What is that smell!" she said, shocked at the scent that filled the air.

"Lunch," Seifer said, grinning, as he lead the way into a room with a bowl of a green substance sitting on the table. "Feel free to throw up now."

"I just might," Quistis said, hurrying out of the room. Seifer followed her all the way to the garden, where she took deep breaths of air.

"Better now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Quistis said, leaning against the side of the mansion. "Did you actually eat that stuff?" she asked.

"Most certainly not. I only had a bite, then spit it out. Unfortunately, the taste lingers in your mouth, even after you have four glasses of milk."

"Maybe we should just order out."

"Do you know any pizza services in Deling?"

"Well, no, but surely we can find a phonebook."

"We?"

"Yes, Seifer, you're helping me." They scoured the house but couldn't find the phonebook, even with Zell's help, which they had acquired when he had run out of the dining room, nearly knocking them over. When asked about one the maid looked blankly at them, then walked away.

"Now what?" asked an exhausted Zell as they lounged in the living room, which happened to be the room farthest from the offending smell. He was stretched out on the only couch, which left Seifer and Quistis two hardback chairs. _I'm sure these were used as torture devices once,_ thought Quistis.

"We could always go out into town, and get something there," suggested Quistis.

"I don't want to be seen in public with the chicken-wuss. I want to protect what little reputation I have left," muttered Seifer. Quistis noticed a flash of regret in his eyes as soon as he said it, as she jumped up to barely restrain Zell, who was trying to hit Seifer. Seifer quickly rushed out of the room, at least as quickly as his trademark swagger would allow, and Quistis let Zell go.

"Just let it go, Zell," she said. Zell released a breath, and nodded. "Let's go into town, and get some take-out."

* * *

Seifer awoke with a sharp, high-pitched gasp, and lay there, panting, as he recalled his nightmare. He had been wandering somewhere. The place was dark and cold, making him shiver, even under the warmth of his trenchcoat. He had turned a corner after walking down a long corridor, and seen something. He couldn't remember what it was that he had seen, but it had been so terrible, so frightening, that he had awoken. At least, he thought he had. All he could remember was seeing his ceiling, but he was paralyzed, unable to move even his eyes. Then, suddenly, he was back in his room in Caraway's mansion.

Seifer looked at the clock. _Only 1:00 p.m.? I don't remember falling asleep after arguing with Zell. Oh well. I wonder what that dream was about? _He was about to lay back down when he heard voices in the corridor. He opened the door a crack, and listened.

"What are you doing! Why do you keep defending Seifer? He hasn't done anything nice or helpful for us, ever. All he's done is nearly get us killed!"

"Look, I know what he's done, and I don't like it, but you he was with us all in the orphanage, and every human deserves the chance to prove themselves."

"But he's still the same. He hasn't changed a bit."

"Yes, he has. I can tell he's trying not to murder you where you stand, and for Seifer that is quite a challenge."

"Look, I really don't understand this. What makes you so sure?"

"My reasons are my own, but it is mainly because he does try to make an effort, you just keep focusing on the bad."

"Tch, fine. All I'm saying is he can't change, just like a Gayla can't change it's stripes," Zell said. "I'm getting some food. Coming?"

"Right after I give Seifer this tray," Quistis said, and he heard her heels clicking as she walked down the hall, toward him. He quickly replaced the door, then sat down on the bed. Just then, the phone rang._ Great,_ Seifer thought, _here we go again. _

"Hello, this is Seifer." He listened to the voice for a moment, anger in his eyes. "Yes, I know. You can check with Gary. But please, you don't need to call every hour! Enough is enough! What happened to once a day!" He listened some more. "Of course, understood. No, that won't be necessary." He slammed the phone down, just as a knock on his door resounded around the room, although it did not startle him.

"Go away!" he called to the person in the hall. He was still upset about the phone call, and didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Zell and I got some take-out, and thought you might want some," Quistis said from the other side of the door.

"No. Go away." Ignoring his pleas she walked in, and placed a tray on his bedside table.

"Just incase you decide you want it," she said, and started to walk away. Suddenly, Seifer became angry.

"I said I don't want it!" he shouted, and threw the tray at her. She turned around slowly, a few of the spaghetti noodles dripping from her outfit, although most were in her hair. She walked over to him, and slapped him with her glove, which was covered in sauce. He grasped his jaw, slightly stunned by the reaction.

"Don't you ever do that again." she snapped, and walked away. Seifer just walked into the bathroom, wiped the gravy off with a towel, and flopped back on his bed.

_What the hell do I think I'm doing? I thought I was trying to make matters better, not worse! Great, maybe Zell was right. Maybe I can't change,_ he thought, frowning. _I wonder why Quistis keeps thinking I deserve another chance. What reasons could she have for thinking I deserve another change? _He made a mental note to ask her about it later, after berating her for helping him. He wasn't weak, and it was time he showed them that hadn't changed about him. _I kind of wish I hadn't thrown that food now, _he thought as his stomach rumbled.

After twenty minutes, Seifer couldn't stand it anymore. He poked his head out the door, made sure the coast was clear, then walked to the kitchen, where the heavenly scent of take-out spaghetti filled the air. Seifer grabbed a paper plate, loaded food onto it, and turned around. He was surprised to see Quistis was standing there. Her hair was damp, as though she had recently washed it, and she wasn't in her normal outfit. It probably had to be washed, he reasoned.

"Well, we just keep bumping into each other, don't we?" Quistis said, no humor in her voice. "You shouldn't throw things at people. I didn't appreciate that."

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused yet defensive.

"Defending me. I can stand up for myself. I don't need a weakling like you to defend me!" he snapped. Quistis glared at him.

"I told Zell what I believe. But I'm not so sure now, if you won't even say thank you! Just accept that I am worried about your wellbeing, and I was just trying to be nice! You didn't need to throw that food at me earlier!"

"Maybe," he muttered, and walked out of the kitchen, plate in his hand.

* * *

Quistis sat on a bench in the garden, trying not to go and kill Seifer. _What is with him! He keeps trying to help me, then turns around and yells. I just can't believe this. I thought I knew him before the Sorceress War, then he joins Ultimecia. Then he comes back, crying and sincerely acting sorry, then he throws things at me and yells! It's like he's a schizophrenic, or has a split personality, or something.  
_  
"Oh, there you are." said Zell as he walked out. He looked toward the setting sun. "Pretty out here."

"It is. And mildly calming."

"Want to tell me why you have a streak of sauce on your cheek?" asked Zell, a slight smile hidden behind his hand. Quistis quickly raised a hand to her face. Sure enough, there was a slight dampness, and when she pulled her hand away, it revealed a pale red stain.

"Damn that Seifer." she hissed under her breath as she wiped the sauce off.

"What's he do?" Zell asked.

"Threw food at me."

"Told you. I told you! But no one ever takes me seriously! 'Oh, Zell said something? It must be a joke.' But they're all wrong! I do to know what I'm talking about."

"Zell, calm down. You soud like a little child. And I am starting to believe you. It's just...he really seemed upset about his actions before, and yet now?" She trailed off, and left the sentence hanging.

"Look, I know you want your Instructor license back, and I know the Review Board is using Seifer as a reflection on your skills. But really, you have to know you can't win all your battles."

"I know, but they think so little of me, because I became an Instructor so young, and I want to prove to them I can handle this. You understand, don't you?"

"Sure I do. I just don't think you should count on Seifer when it comes to your credentials. Remember, he was the one who made you lose them."

"How could I forget?" she muttered. "Trust me, I remember quite well why my credentials were revoked."

Zell sighed. "It's getting late. Let's just go inside. Gary said he has all the necessary information to formulate a plan, and the Summer Ball is this evening.."

"Yeah..." she murmured. After a moment's hesitation, she followed Zell into the mansion.

* * *

Everyone said this was the best Summer Ball ever. Personally, Quistis didn't think it was that great. Just happy couples parading around, and all the politics that was the main topic of discussion. She'd rather be at the SeeD Inaugurations than this place. At least there she knew people. Well, she knew Zell and Seifer, but Zell had found a table of hotdogs, and she wasn't exactly thrilled with Seifer right now.

"Mind if I take a seat?" asked a quiet voice. Quistis didn't even look at Seifer.

"Yes, I do mind."

"Would it help if I apologized?"

"No. Words are only good if your actions prove them."

"I can't think of any way I can prove I'm sorry about throwing food at you, and costing you your license, and anything else I have done. But I can begin to make amends." He held out a wineglass. Quistis looked at it dubiously. "I didn't poison it." Seifer assured her.

"Mm-hmm." she murmured, not entirely convinced.

"Want me to taste it first, just incase?" he asked.

"No way. Give me the glass." she said, holding out her hand. He passed her the glass, then stood there for a moment a she took a sip.

"What?" she asked, his silence slightly unnerving.

"You could say thank you." he suggested. Not spitefully, not angrily, just in a solemn voice, as though speaking in a church.

"Thank you." she said.

"You're welcome. May I?" he asked, gesturing toward the empty chair. She nodded her assent, and he sat down.

"The real reason I came over here was to apologize. You see, I've been trying to regain what little reputation I can. But it's been so frustrating. I had to argue for hours with Cid for this mission, and even then he was hesitant. I'm being monitored, and after they call checking on me every hour, even at night. I've been feeling frustrated, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, I know that isn't an excuse, but I just want you to understand why I've been so...odd recently."

"Seifer, it's okay. I'm being pressured right now myself, with the Review Board. I understand, I really do. But please, never do that again."

"Sure." he agreed. The sat there for a while, just watching the dancers waltz by.

"You know, Seifer, you...nevermind."

"No, what?" he asked.

"I just...you don't...have to..keep pretending to be strong," she said after a moment. He looked at her blankly. "I saw how sorry you were that you yelled at Zell. I remember those remarks you made when you saw me again. You think that by saying things like that, that by acting like that and never apologizing no matter how sorry you are, you're showing you're strong. But you don't have to."

Seifer stared at her a moment. "Don't think you have me figured out. Because you don't," he said finally, averting her gaze. Quistis shook her head, her ocean-colored eyes still following the dancers.

"I'm not saying I have you figured out. I'm just saying, no one can be strong all the time. If you want to be forgiven someday, you need to show that you want it."

"...You..._might_...be right..." he whispered so quietly she wasn't sure she heard them.

They sat there, the swirling colors of the dancers floating across their vision. Zell came over after a few moments, breaking the silence.

"They have four different hotdog combinations!" he said brightly.

"At a nice ball?" Quistis asked, surprised. "I could see that at Garden, because they're so popular, but here?"

"Apparently they have people from Galbadia Garden here who specifically requested it," explained Zell. "At least, that's how Gary explained it. I should thank them sometime."

"Where is he, anyway?" Quistis asked.

"Gary? He's being the bodyguard for now, then we switch off. You get to watch Caraway second, Quistis, and Seifer last. I get the third shift. If there is more time, Gary'll watch again."

"Great. I'll be about when he'll be near the candidates for the talks. I am so lucky, because I just love politics," Seifer whinned. Quistis chuckled, and even Zell grinned as he pulled a nearby chair over and plopped into it.

"By the way, I wanted to talk to you, Zell," Seifer said. Quistis looked over, surprised. He glanced at her a moment, then looked back at Zell.

"About what?" Zell immediately became defensive, sitting up straight.

"This is difficult...but I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the times I've yelled at you, and called you names, and hit you. I've been trying not to, but...old habits die hard. So please, understand, I am trying."

"Just like that, after everything, you want to be forgiven? It doesn't work like that. You have to earn it."

"I don't want your forgiveness given on faith alone. Just give me a chance, that's all I ask for. Please." Zell turned to Quistis.

"Do you believe this?"

"Yes, I believe he'll try to become better."

"Say what! I don't believe this!" Zell looked stunned, then jumped up, annoyed. "I want nothing to do with this!" he snapped, and stormed away from the table, straight toward his one and only refuge, the hotdog table.

"That went well," murmured Seifer. He started to get up, but Quistis put a hand on his shoulder.

"Give him a few minutes to cool down, and think about this," Quistis urged, pulling him back into his seat. "You know he acts first, and thinks later. As long as you don't throw it back in his face, he'll be okay."

"Fine," he said, taking another sip of his clear drink, which may have been vodka. After about ten minutes, Zell came back, with twenty hotdogs.

"Well, I've thought about this. And I've decided that you can have another chance. _Maybe_," he added quickly. _Some habits really do die hard,_ she thought.

"Thank you," Seifer said simply. Quistis breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid that Seifer would make a big deal of this despite what she had said, but he had taken it surprisingly well.

"Want a hotdog, Seifer?" asked Zell, holding out a couple. Seifer accepted it as a peace offering. For Zell to give up a hotdog once he had his hands on it was a great offering indeed. The three sat there in silence.

"So, want to do something?" asked Zell, obviously bored, as he had polished off all his hotdogs. Seifer finished the second one.

"Your turn, Quistis," said a voice. They turned to see Gary there.

"Already?" Quistis asked. "Are you sure it's my turn?"

"Yeah," said Gary, and walked over to the Galbadia Garden table.

"Want to trade turns?" asked Zell.

"If that's okay with you," she said.

"Sure. But you owe me a hotdog, from Balamb."

"Deal," she said, smiling.

"Excuse me," Zell said, and walked over to where General Caraway stood. Quistis looked over at Seifer.

"So, do you want to do something?" she asked.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well, I for one haven't see this Natalie Illuna."

"You know, come to think of it, neither have I." Seifer said. "Caraway said she would be here. Shall we start searching the room for her?"

"Sure. Which side do you want?" she asked.

"As far away from those politicians as I can get," Seifer said quickly. Quistis grinned.

"Still against them?"

"Hell yeah," He looked around for a moment. "Did you just hear a click, or was it just me?" he asked. Quistis opened her mouth, to reply to Seifer's query, but another voice, full of panic, stopped whatever she was about to say.

"LOOK OUT!"

And then two shots rang out.

* * *

I know I keep changing Seifer's reactions and moods in this story, but it's supposed to be that way. Although Final Fantasy VIII never quite explained if Ultimecia had used his lifelong dream to put him under a spell or not, I think that's what happened. He was instrumental in the killing of many innocent people, and he was ordered to kill people he had literally grown up with. I think that would definitely mess up a person, and cause them to switch personalities while trying to fit back into the world. 


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Quick note. Quistis will be arguing with herself in this chapter. The thoughts that come from her mind, not her own thoughts, will be show in parenthesis, like this: (thought)

Until I hit the lottery, I won't have Final Fantasy. So Final Fantasy shall remain in the hands of Squaresoft. For now. Heh heh heh.

**Chapter Five: Assassination Attempt **

They both jumped up, startled, and training kicked in as Quistis pulled out her Save the Queen, which she had hidden as a decorative belt. Seifer reached for Hyperion, but it had been stowed away in a cupboard upon entering the room. Even telling the guard that he was a security guard hadn't made a difference. Seifer cursed the gaurd with all his will.

"You okay?" asked Seifer, concerned as he stood up.

"Yeah," Quistis said, standing up as well. "Right now, we need to find Caraway!" Seifer nodded in agreement, and together they started to search for him. Seifer stopped by the door first, and collected Hyperion.

"Over there!" said Quistis, pointing toward the candidate table. Sure enough, Caraway and Gary were standing there, stunned. Zell was hunched over slightly, standing in front of Caraway. Guards were swarming around the room, looking for the shooter.

"What just happened?" asked Caraway. He turned around, and gasped. Zell had taken a bullet in the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." muttered Zell.

"Was that...meant for me?"

"It had to have been. There was no one else around at the time." Zell clutched at his stomach, then collapsed. Seifer and Quistis ran over, and Quistis checked his pulse.

"He's alive. The blood loss must've sent him into shock," said Quistis. Seifer breathed a sigh of relief._ I may not like Zell, and I may not like his attitude, but if he did pass on...I guess I'd miss him. In a very remote, very vague, very small kind of way. Kinda like missing your enemy, because you love fighting with them.  
_  
"We need to get him to the hospital," said Seifer. "Would you like to go, or should I?"

"I'll go. You stay with Caraway. And be careful, they sniper may still be around," cautioned Quistis.

"Hey, I'm always careful. Look who you're talking to."

"See you later," Quistis said, as the doors were pushed open hurriedly.

"Yeah. Hurry up," Seifer cautioned. Quistis just nodded, and hurried out with several medics who had just arrived with a stretcher. Seifer turned to Caraway.

"Under the circumstances, sir, you should leave here. It isn't safe."

"Agreed," Caraway said. He turned to candidates. "My apologies, but I must go. I shall continue this discussion later."

"Sure," General Horace Wilkie said. He was a tall, graying man, and he had an aura of command around him. "I look forward to it," The others murmured general consent of his words.

"And I hope your guard wasn't seriously injured," added one of the females, an average, brown haired woman, who appeared to be Mariana Skye.

"Thank you, Miss Skye." said Caraway, confirming Seifer's thoughts. Darius Deling turned to the others.

"In light of these events, perhaps we should postpone the debate, which I look forward too," he suggested. "After all, these people are no doubt shaken up, and will want to rest."

"I agree," said Mariana.

"I am also in favor," said a tall, thin woman with fiery red hair said, who had to be Kayla Friedman.

"Count me in," said a small, skinny man, with small beady eyes. Seifer remembered Marcus Deling from his last time in Deling. Seifer immediately decided he still didn't like the look of him. If something was going on, he had no doubt that little weasel was at the very center of it, waiting to see who was going to win, then jump on their coattails.

"I also agree," said Wilkie, making the vote unanimous. Darius turned toward the waiting crowd.

"My esteemed colleagues and I have decided to postpone the rest of the evening, in light of the recent events. A new time shall be announced shortly. And I thank you all for coming." Everyone started to talk among themselves as Seifer and Caraway walked out of the building, and to the General's private car.

_I hope Zell is okay,_ thought Seifer as he lead Caraway out of the room, scanning the area as he went.

* * *

Quistis paced the hospital waiting room nervously. The doctors had said that he was very ill. Apparently there had been two bullets, one to the arm, and one to the upper chest. His lung had been nicked, and his required a breathing aide. He had lost a ton of blood, and had lost all feeling in his arm. She slumped against the wall. _That should be me in there dying. Why did it have to be him? Melissa will be so worried. At least, if it had been me, I wouldn't have someone that worried about me, although I hope that everyone would at least be upset. _

The door opened, and someone came over to her sitting place against the wall. "Any news?" asked Seifer, and she heard the concern in his voice. She knew better than to comment on it, though.

"The second bullet, the one that hit his upper chest, nicked his lung, and he requires a breathing aide. He lost a ton of blood, and he'll loose all feeling in his arm for a while. Figures, he's the only one of us who doesn't use a weapon, just punches. He won't be up to snuff for a while."

"Damn," Seifer murmured as he sat down next to her. They just sat there, waiting for something, anything to happen. Quistis retreated back into her thoughts. _Why did this have to happen? Why, why, why?_

"They didn't find the sniper. And Caraway is home, with Gary," Seifer told her.

"Mmm," she muttered, not really listening.

"This isn't your fault," he told her.

"If I had just done my duty Zell wouldn't be in that hospital room..."

"No, you would be there. I really don't see the difference between who your friends pray for."

"It's different!" she exclaimed.

"How?"

"See, Zell has a girlfriend..."

"Really? The chicken-wuss? No way! Who?"

"That librarian, Melissa Rodriguez."

"Interesting. Then that time I was teasing him he _was_ calling his girlfriend!" Seifer was grinning evilly. Quistis could litererally see the cogs spinning frantically in his mind. She smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Leave him alone, Seifer."

"Oh, alright. I guess for a wounded person I can let the taunting slide, at least for the first hour or so. After that, it might be kind of hard, so no promises."

"You're so kind."

"Oh, I know. So, you were saying?" he prompted.

"Well, he'll have Melissa so worked up, and I don't want to put her through that kind of worry."

"I'm sure everyone would worry just as much about you."

"Not really like that," Quistis said, burying her head in her arms, which rested on her knees. Seifer looked down at the floor, wanting to comfort his old friend, yet not knowing quite what to do. He reached up an arm, and hesitantly wrapped it around her shoulders, trying to comfort her as best he could.

"Let me tell you something, in all honesty. If that was you laying in that bed in there, I would be really depressed, and so would everyone else. Honestly," Quistis looked up, surprised.

"You're not just saying that?" she asked.

"No, I'm not lying. I would be depressed if you were wounded. Really, despite what people think, you were a great instructor, and you're really the closest thing to a friend I have."

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Besides, you have to get me through my next test."

"Ah yes, the practical approach," she muttered, joking, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him tense for a moment, then slowly relax. She felt surprised herself at her audacity, but then again people usually clung to whoever was around during a crisis, afraid if someone wasn't there they would drown in anguish too. Gradually, they both drifted off to sleep against the wall, with Seifer's arm still around Quistis, both waiting for the dawn to come, hoping Zell would live to see it.

* * *

Seifer woke up, and wondered briefly why he was so sore. Then he remembered the events of the previous evening, and looked around the waiting room. According to the wall clock it was 8:00 in the morning. He looked over at Quistis, who was still sleeping. He couldn't think of any way to move without disturbing her, so he waited, as the minutes ticked by. He nearly drifted off to sleep when she finally woke up. She moved her head, stretching, and Seifer stretched the cramp that had been built during the night.

"Thank you for waiting with me," Quistis said, as she got up to stretch her legs. Seifer also stood, and walked, a bit jerkily as his legs were still kind of asleep, over to the nurse behind the counter.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but has there been any change in the condition of Zell Dincht?" he asked her. While she went to find someone who would know, he turned back to Quistis.

"No problem. It's not like I had anywhere else to be," he said. "I was kind of worried about Zell, although don't tell him that!" he warned, pointing at her in a mock-threat. "You don't want a scar to, do ya?"

"Oh, don't hurt me. I won't tell!" she promised, throwing up her hands and pretending she was scared.

"I also came over because I was worried about you. I figured you would be beating yourself up about last night. And guess what? I _was _right. Although I'm not sure it's much of a victory..." he added, and she smiled slightly.

The nurse came back. "The surgery to attempt to repair his lung is about to commence. It will be about three hours, maybe longer. You should really go out and eat while we're performing the surgery. There's a cheap restaurant down the street on the left will some good food. You can't miss it."

"We'll take your advice, thank you," Seifer said, and turned to Quistis. "Care to join me while I eat breakfast, my treat?" he asked.

"I'd be delighted," she told him, smiling. "I can't pass up free food. We ex-instructors don't make much money."

* * *

Quistis sat in a local restaurant, Grandma Wisteria's, across from Seifer, eating a fruit salad. She vaguely remembered Rinoa mentioning this was a good restaurant, which Rinoa had visited when she was still living in Deling. She looked out of the window, and noticed that there were clouds gathering in the sky, promising rain. She was still trying to sort through her emotions, and wasn't concentrating much on her food.

_I can't believe my own actions in the hospital! After all, we're not sure which side he's on! He could be a double agent, a spy, anything, she thought, then mentally slapped herself. Come on, you've tried to tell everyone else to trust him, why can't you do as you say? _But on the inside, in a secluded place that she even tucked away from herself, she knew the answer. She actually was beginning to like Seifer, not just as a friend.

_Pull yourself together Quistis! Remember, student/teacher relationships don't work!_ Naturally, that secluded, rebellious voice argued. _(But, of course, after he becomes a SeeD?)_

_There is no guarantee he'll become a SeeD! _

(But there's a chance. Can't you believe in a chance?)

It would be too hard, too complex. Maybe after things are more certain?

(What if it's too late? This is just you dragging your heels!)

She had never felt this confused in her life. Even her crush on Squall hadn't been this bad, because she was so sure she was certian back then. Now, she didn't know what was going on. It is possible that this is merely because people tend to cling to other people during a crisis, to keep above it all and say I'm alive.

_(That's the Psychology Ph.D talking, Quistis.) _

Or is it? she wondered.

"Quistis? Are you alright?" asked a voice, dragging her out of her traitorous thoughts. She felt a little grateful, but still annoyed at the intrusion.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing! Aren't I allowed to think!" she exploded. Seifer seemed shocked.

"Well, yeah, sure."

"Then why are you interrogating me!"

"Look, I'm pretty worried too. But maybe you should talk about whatever is the matter, instead of letting it fester and infect your mind. Trust me, you'd feel better."

"Probably. I didn't mean to snap, but with everything that's happened?"

"Yeah, life has been pretty hectic recently. But really, you should talk about this."

"I don't really want to. I'm fine, really," she smiled, but she knew she couldn't fool him, although he pretended to believe her.

"Fine. If you change your mind, just come talk to me. It's not like I have much of a social life."

Quistis laughed, then turned back to the window, thoughtfully chewing on her fruit salad. _So, what am I going to do? _she wondered. _I might not even like him. I just don't know, I'm so confused! I wish I had a someone besides Seifer to talk to, or something. Well, I guess there really isn't much I can do, is there? Just wait, and see what happens. Determine if this is more than a schoolgirl crush.  
_  
She finished off the last of her salad, noted Seifer was already done and had paid for the checks, so she got up and joined him at the counter. Seifer received his change, and together they walked out the door, and down the road to the hospital, where news of Zell would be, with any luck.

* * *

The nurse looked up as they walked in the door. "You came just in time," she told them. "Your friend just came out of surgery, and they said he's recovering well. He isn't awake yet, but they estimate he will be within the hour. And the best news is he doesn't require a breathing aide anymore."

"Thank Hyne." Quistis whispered, relieved.

"Would you care to go see him?" asked the nurse, looking up the room number for Zell, before they replied. She could already tell the answer.

"Yes please," Seifer said, speaking for both of them. The nurse nodded, then lead them down a series of sterile white walls to a room with 316 printed on the wall. Quistis thanked the woman, then walked in, and Seifer followed. The nurse left, and Seifer took up a leaning position against the wall. Quistis, however, sat down near the cold metal bed, after moving the plain green curtain aside. Zell lay there, with bandages around his arm and chest.

_That should be me,_ she thought. _But no, it isn't, because I wanted to have fun, instead of doing your duty. They were right to take my credentials away, what kind of an instructor am I?_

_(Stop whining! What good will that do? After all, what happened happened, and you can't change the past.) _

Ellone could... She knew changing time wasn't the answer, but she was really getting annoyed with her inner voice

_(Ellone tried and failed. Get over it already. You aren't helping anyone by just sitting here! Contact the mission leader, tell him about Zell, and call Melissa. Come on, Quistis, this is common knowledge! Do you want your credentials or not?)_ Quistis stood up. Of course she needed to do her duty. After all, she could still redeem herself. She looked over at Seifer. _And I can worry about him later,_ she told herself.

"Seifer?"

"Yo."

"Can you stay here and watch Zell?"

"Why, are you calling your boyfriend?"

"No, I'm calling Gary and Melissa. You need to stay here, in case he wakes up."

"Why?"

"Because he should see a friendly face."

"This _could _just be me, but doesn't Zell hate me?"

"Not really, on the inside. I'll be back in a few minutes." Quistis walked out of the room before he could argue, and headed to the waiting room, where she had seen a phone earlier. She reached the room, picked up the receiver, and called General Caraway's residence.

"_Hello?_"asked the voice on the other end.

"I'm calling for Gary Sevrin. My name is Quistis Trepe."

"_I'll get him. One moment_." After a minute, Gary picked up.

"_Hello?_"

"It's Quistis. I just got back the report from the hospital. Zell recovering well, and he can breath on his own."

"_Excellent. I'll put that in my weekly report. Was that all?_"

"I just wanted to know if we had further instructions."

"_Unfortunately, I don't have enough information. I'm trying to located Natalie Illuna, but no one can find her. And until she supplies us with information, we can't find the purpose of the AI chip. So really, after you're done at the hospital, report back here. But be aware that if even a small lead comes up I'm calling you guys, and you need to go immediately_."

"Aye aye, sir." Quistis hung up, then picked it up again and dialed Selphie in Trabia. Thank Hyne she had remembered to get Selphie's number before the hyperactive girl had left.

"_Hi! This is Selphie Tilmitt, incharge of her first mission ever!_" Quistis smiled at her way of answering the phone.

"Selphie? It's Quistis."

"_Hi Quistis! What's up?_"

"I wanted Melissa's number."

"_Sure! Use the Balamb Garden area code, then dial 74-565. But why do you want her number?_"

"Zell was hurt, but he's doing better now. I wanted to personally tell her."

"_Zell was hurt! Oh man, that isn't good! At least he's doing better_."

"Yeah. Thanks Selphie."

"_No problem. Call me when you aren't busy, okay? I want to hear about the mission, and you can tell me about what happened to Zell_."

"Sure. See you later." She dialed 872 (the Balamb Garden area code) then dialed 74-565.

"_Hello?_"

"Hello, this is Quistis Trepe, a friend of Zell's. I was calling because there was an accident. Zell was wounded, but he's recovering now."

"_Zell was hurt? What happened!_"

"There was a sniper attack, and Zell took a bullet to the chest and arm. Blood lost sent him into shock, but he's getting better. For a while, they needed to get a machine to help his breathing, but he can do that on his own now. He hasn't woken up yet, but they think he will soon."

"_Thanks for calling. Oh Hyne. Look, ask him to call me when he feels up to it, and call me when he wakes up. Please?_"

"Sure."

"_And tell him I'll keep my fingers crossed for him_."

"Sure thing."

"_Thank you so much, Quistis. It means a lot that you called_."

"You're welcome. Goodbye."

"_Bye_."

* * *

Quistis and Seifer were waiting for Gary in the dining room. After Quistis had finished calling Selphie and Melissa she had joined Seifer in Zell's room. Zell hadn't woken up during the three hours they were there, so the nurse told them they should leave, and return to the mansion for lunch. Only after the nurse swore on everything she could think of that she would call them the instant Zell woke up they left for the General's. Fortunately, because General Caraway was here, there was descent food being served. Quistis looked at the food, which was pasta and shrimp. It looked so good, but they had to wait until Gary arrived.

Seifer leaned over from his seat next to her. "I wonder where Gary is," he whispered.

"He said he needed to finish some work," Quistis whispered back. Seifer nodded, and leaned back over in his place. Quistis was glad, because she was still too confused by her emotions. She still didn't know what to think about any of this. Seifer, Zell, the sniper, her credentials...everything was screaming for her to acknowledge it. It was as though everything had fallen apart after Ultimecia was gone, and she didn't know how to pick everything up. It seemed as though every time she had a few things balanced something new was thrown at her and she dropped it all again. She had never felt so confused in her life. Fortunately, the opening of the dining room door made her thoughts disappear.

"Sorry I was late, but there was some last minute information I needed to take care of," Gary apologized as he swept into the room, and took a seat across from Quistis. General Caraway began to take some food, and everyone followed his example. Quistis stared at her food, not really seeing it, as she thought about the events of yesterday at the Summer Ball. _Who would attack General Caraway?_ She looked over at the general.

"Did anyone find anything out about the assassin?" she asked, curious.

"There has been no reports. The bullets were identified as belonging to a LazerStar 700, but that's about all."

"Is that a rare gun, or common?" she asked. She didn't know a thing about guns. Usually if she wanted to know somthing about them she just went in search of Irvine.

"What really confuses me is why anyone would try to kill General Caraway," Seifer said. "After all, he isn't running the presidential election, he's going to retire as a general soon, and doesn't really have control over anything seriously valuable."

"What about revenge?" asked Quistis. "After all, I'm sure that there are people who hate him."

"Unusually enough, I can't think of anyone who would try to assassinate me. There are people annoyed at me, but very few people hate me."

"Maybe this is one of those weird grudges," Gary said. Everyone looked at him, confused. "I'm sure you've heard of those cases where people hate other people because something they did affected their lives. Remember that famous Deling case a couple years ago, where a Wendigo hunter was out for the steel pipes Wendigos drop, and they inadvertently killed someone's pet Wendigo? Well, the owner went on this total rampage. Maybe this is a case like that." Seifer tried very hard to contain a laugh at this idea. His cheeks were becoming stained pink with the effort. Even Quistis felt amused, although she hid her reaction in her glass of water.

"Interesting. A little farfetched, but possible," General Caraway murmured, looking out the window, contemplating what Gary had said. Quistis wasn't sure, but he looked as though he had an amused twinkle in his eye.

"We shouldn't rule out anything," Gary said. Caraway nodded.

"Of course. But for now, let's just enjoy the meal. We can worry about that later."

"Amen ," Seifer said, digging in. Quistis rolled her eyes, and started eating. After thirty minutes, General Caraway left, and Gary instructed them to join him in their base room, where he was going to discuss strategies for finding the sniper and Natalie Illuna. Just then, one of the maids walked in.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but the hospital called. Mr. Dincht will be waking up soon."

Quistis and Seifer jumped up at the same time, and Quistis rushed to the door, Seifer following casually. However, Gary's voice stopped them before they managed to get out the door.

"Hey, get back here!" shouted Gary, annoyed. "We need to plan the next move!"

"But-" Quistis began. She needed to see if Zell was okay, if she hadn't totally messed up.

"No buts. As your direct superior I order you to get back in this room, and finish this meeting. The hospital will call if something is wrong, and your being there will not help," His tone was final. Seifer and Quistis walked back into the room, and returned to their chairs.

"Look, I understand you're worried about Zell. But your presence isn't going to make much of a difference. So please, just get through this briefing," They nodded affirmative, but neither of them was happy about it.

* * *

Zell blinked as he looked up at a very bright sun. _Where the hell am I? _he wondered. He tried to move, then realized he couldn't. He eyes wandered the room, looking for the enemy that had to be near, but saw nothing other than a vast white space. _I hope I didn't die, _he thought. _I still my entire life to live! And there are all the important things in life: Melissa, my friends, Ma, killing Seifer, beating Irvine...oh yeah, I agreed to give Seifer another chance. Well, after he blows that chance I can kill him._ He closed his eyes for a moment. Then he realized something. His chest hurt. A lot. His eyes flew open. _You aren't supposed to feel pain when you're dead. _His eyes looked around, but all he could see was the sun, and the whiteness. He blinked rapidly, but nothing changed.

"Are you awake yet, Mr. Dincht?" asked a voice. He tried to reply, but no sound came out. Something poked his arm, and a searing pain spread like liquid fire through his muscles. _At least it wasn't my sore arm, _he thought. Suddenly, the room swam into focus. What he had thought was the sun was actually a lamp dangling above him. He was able to move his head, and saw that he was in a white hospital room. He looked at a blonde nurse, who had probably been the one who had spoken.

"Ah am awaak.." He frowned. His mouth wasn't responding well. He tried again, slowly this time. "I am awake." _That's better_. The nurse smiled.

"Being a little groggy is expected after the surgery. You need to rest up, and your arm will be really sore for awhile, but your health is improving. But try not to stress your arm by doing any heavy lifting or anything." Zell nodded, then looked around.

"Where is Quistis?" he asked. The nurse frowned.

"Miss Trepe?" she questioned. He merely nodded; speaking wasn't exactly what he wanted to do right now. "We called her and told her you were awake, but she hasn't been here yet." Zell felt disappointed. _I had hoped Quistis would have come. Hell, even seeing Seifer would have been nice. _He didn't show any disappointment.

"She must be busy." Zell said, thinking up an excuse . The nurse nodded.

"I'm sure. Anyway, here is the call button." She pointed to a button that lay near his bed. "Press this if you need anything. These two buttons with the arrows on them will move your bed up and down."

"Ma'am, how much longer will I need to be here?" asked Zell.

"I would estimate three days. They'll want to monitor you, to make sure the surgery went well. After that you will be released, but you'll need to take to take it easy."

"Thank you." he said.

"You're welcome." With that, the nurse left the room. Zell looked around and poked the up button.

"Bed goes up, bed goes down. Bed goes up, bed goes down." he said, pushing the buttons. After about a minute of that, it started to get boring. He looked around again and, noticing a remote, picked it up and pointed it at the television. A burst of static greeted his efforts. He flipped through the channels, but there was only static. He turned the television off, annoyed. _I hope Quistis comes to see me soon. This is pretty boring... _


	7. Chapter 6

Squaresoft told me they decided not to relinquish control of Final Fantasy. They're really mean! And I asked them so nicely...

**Chapter Six: Return of a Friend**

"I can't believe Gary, I just can't believe him!" Seifer complained, pacing the room.

"Seifer, stop it. That's really annoying," Quistis said, frowning as she looked out the window of their base of operations. Seifer sat down on the couch.

"So, when is Gary getting here?" he asked.

"Now," said a voice from the doorway.

"I now have the entire plan. A bar owner on 3rd street, who calls himself Spikes, knows how to contact Natalie Illuna. The bar is called 'Neon Nightlife'."

"Hey, I've been there," Seifer commented.

"I thought the plan was meet her at the Summer Ball," Quistis asked, ignoring Seifer.

"The ball has been rescheduled until late next week, and we can't wait that long. Naturally, we need to talk to the bar owner soon, because we need to find out what she knows."

"I thought SeeD wasn't going to deal with people who don't abide by the law," said Quistis.

"I asked my Garden, and they said we could make an exception, becasue this could be war. Seifer, you'll talk to the bar owner. Quistis, you'll be the back up, in case anything goes wrong. I'm going to stay here, just in case anyone tries to take Caraways' life again," Gary disappeared again.

"He is the leader, right?" Seifer said. Quistis looked at him curiously.

"Um, yeah. Did you miss this part?" she asked.

"No, I mean... He never does much, does he? He's always here, sitting on his ass. Every once in a while he comes in here and tells us what to do. He just sits at that computer all day."

"You're right. But I'm sure he doesn't mean it," she said. They both sat there for a moment, considering Gary's odd behavior. Finally, Seifer spoke.

"Let's go see this guy concerning where Miss Illuna is. Then, on our way back, we can swing by and see how Zell's doing. Not that I'm concerned or anything," he added.

"Sounds like a plan," Quistis said smiling, and they both left the room.

* * *

"I want to see a man called Spikes!" Seifer shouted over the din of the patrons and the screeching and crooning of the music-like noise. The bartender at Neon Nightlife shook his head. 

"No, I don't know where Spikes is," he said.

"Do you know anyone who might?" The bartender looked around for a moment, obviously thinking. From the 'highly intelligent conversation' he had had with this man, he was sure that think was quite hard for this man.

"Oy, One!" shouted the bartender. _They have such intelligent, original names around here, _thought Seifer. He looked into the corner as One slowly stumbled over. Quistis was sitting at the bar, blending in nicely in her disguise. She wore a dark cloak, like most of the patrons, and she was drinking the cheapest drink, also like everyone else. However, a drug developed by Garden meant her senses wouldn't be dulled. With a brown wig, some brown colored contacts and a false scar along her throat she looked like a very different person.

"Wha' ya want?" a slurred voice behind Seifer asked. He turned around.

"Do you know where Spikes is?" he asked, casually flipping several gil around in his palm. The motion wasn't lost on One. He watched the gil like a T-Rexaur would watch a particularly fat Grat.

"He's upstairs."

"Can you get me up there?" Seifer asked. Several more gil made their way from Seifer's pocket to his hand. One saw this as well, and eyed them with growing interest.

"Well..." murmured One. More coins appeared in Seifer's hand.

"Follow for me," One said decisively, walking to the back of the room. Seifer followed him up the stairs, and they knocked on the third door. One walked away from the door, and Seifer passed him the gil. One scrambled away with his prize (as fast as he could in his drunken state, which means it was more of a penguin waddle), and the door craked open.

"Who's there?"

"I want to buy some information." Gil. It was amazing how far gil could get you in the lower levels of society. Of course, Seifer knew all about this, having lived there himself for a while, until the armies had returned to their respective countries. Still, it was good to know what he had learned was serving a higher purpose.

"Come in," said Spikes, and he held the door open wide enough for Seifer to squeeze in. Seifer stood in the middle of the room, while Spikes sat down on a hard wooden char.

"What do you want?"

"I want to contact Natalie Illuna."

"Who says I know anything about Illuna?" Spikes asked suspiciously, glancing around. Seifer spread his hands in a passive, calming gesture.

"I'm not saying you do. I'm just saying that if you run into her somewhere, tell her that a friend of mine and I need to talk to her." Seifer passed Spikes some gil. "So, tell her please. This is a mailing address of mine. Contact me if she can talk, assuming you see her. There is a bonus if you can see her within the next five days." Spikes nodded, after making sure that the gil was real.

"I understand," he said, accepting the mailing address. "I'll see what I can do. But I don't promise anything, seeing as I don't know where she is." Seifer nodded.

"I understand completely, and thanks," he said, and slowly left the room to show he wasn't in a hurry to tattle to the police. He walked back downstairs, and out into the street. He walked all the way to the entrance of the park across from Caraway's, and waited there. Five minutes later, Quistis showed up, meandering at a leisurely pace. She slowly circled the park several times, then, satisfied there was no one around, came to where he waited.

"Get anything good?"

"Yeah. He's gonna tell me if he can contact her. He kept saying he didn't know where she was, but that was just because he didn't want the cops to know. The Galbadian's have been trying to catch her, apparently," he said.

"Really? Why?"

"I would assume because she has more information than anyone ever. Remember, she is an information broker. Without information, she has no buisness. So anyone who can get her help has control. Fortunately for us, she doesn't like governments."

"I guess. It feels weird now, trying to contact criminals and cut secret deals and all this. Even as a SeeD we didn't do this much."

"Then again, before we didn't know something was going to happen. At least now we can see the storm clouds and start preparing some shelter now. It seems pointless and even a little too much at first, but in the end it's gonna make a difference. At least, it had better." Quistis was quiet a moment as he finished speaking. Her eyes were slightly narrowed as she looked at him toughtfully.

"You've changed, Seifer," she commented.

"Well, that was the point," he joked, then realized she was really studying him with no trace of amusement. He felt himself starting to turn red under the intensity of her stare, and cast about him desperately for some way of distracting her. His eyes caught the distant outline of the hospital.

"Let's go see Zell now. He'll probably want to see you."

"Let's," she said. She started down the walkway, but stopped when she noticed that Seifer wasn't following her.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked. Seifer just stood there, smiling.

"Are you going to show up like that?" he asked. Quistis frowned, then turned to the nearby store window, and looked at her reflection. She was still in costume. She just sighed and shook her head.

"I forgot," she murmured, pulling off the wig and false scar. She removed the contacts, and placed them into the small contact carrier in her pocket. Then she stuffed the wig and scar away, and pulled her hair free of the net underneath the wig. She quickly fluffed her hair, then smiled at her reflection. Not bad.

"Ready now?" Seifer asked.

"Yeah," she said, smiling.

* * *

Zell sat there. A television was blaring in the some other person's room, but he wasn't trying to hear it anymore. He wasn't paying attention to the magazine on his lap either. He was staring out the window at the distant ocean, barely visible through the jungle of concrete and steel, trying to ignore the pain in his arm and chest. 

"Mr. Dincht?" asked a nurse as she poked her head in the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, still staring out the window.

"There are two people here to see you," she said. Zell sat up straighter, no longer concentrating on the sliver of ocean.

"Let them in," he said. The nurse walked away. A few minutes later, Quistis and Seifer walked in.

"Hey Zell," Quistis said. "How are you doing?"

"Well, my arm hurts and my chest is in pain, but other than that I'm fine. Oh, and this hopital doesn't have any hotdogs."

"Here," Seifer said, throwing a sack on the bed, and walking over to a corner. "We got you some presents. One from me, and one from Quistis." Zell looked at it curiously, then opened it. Quistis had gotten him the new issues of 'Combat King'.

"Cool!" he said. The grabbed Seifer's gift, but he didn't need to open it to know what it was. The smell told him everything.

"HOTDOGS!" he said happily, ripping into the paper bag and stuffing one in his mouth. "Oh mun thoiks!"

"Please shut your mouth," Seifer said, covering his eyes with his hand and grimacing.

"Sorry," Zell said, swallowing. "Oh man, thanks." He took another appreciative bite and chose to savor it this time. "Man, hospital food just can't compare."

"Hospital food can't compare to anything," Seifer said. "Even those rubbery pizzas at the cafeteria are better, and probably healthier."

"You have me there," Zell said, taking another bite. He swallowed, and turned to Quistis. "So, what's been happening?"

"Nothing much. We just got back from trying to contact Miss Illuna again. We haven't really done anything else."

"Oh, sounds great. Um, did anyone think to call Melissa?" he asked.

"Oh, I did," Quistis said.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." There was a silence for a moment, no one quite sure what to say.

"We tried to come before, but Gary wouldn't let us," Seifer said, breaking the silence.

"He's such a jerk," Quistis said, sighing. "He doesn't really know we're here though."

"You snuck away?"

"I know we shouldn't have-" Quistis began.

"That is so cool!" Zell interrupted. "I can't believe you snuck away from a mission! I thought all leaders were super tough about stuff like that! I mean, I tried to sneak away once, but I got caught."

"What mission, and where were you going?" asked Quistis curiously.

"Going to see your girlfriend?" Seifer asked although there wasn't any of his customary malice in his voice.

"Wha - NO WAY!" he said, turning red.

"This was several months after that stuff about Ultimecia."

"What do you mean, 'that stuff about Ultimecia'? You mean when we battled a few sorceresses, fought against some of the most demonic creatures there were, breaking into high-tech/high-security building, and generally saved the entire human race from being stuck in a dimesion of pain? That 'stuff'?"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Who's telling the story, me or you? Anyway, we had just come from Timber, helping liberate it like we were supposed to, when we received a distress call from them saying that Galbadia was threatening to come back. So we went to Deling to speak with the current temporary President. But while we were on our way to see the president, I saw this great new hotdog joint..."

"Oh Hyne," Quists said. Both Quistis and Seifer were grinning. They could already see where this was going.

"...So I executed a well-thought out plan to remove myself from the vehicle, and started racing toward it. One of the people with me, Irvine actually, had to jump out after me and tackle me to the ground to get me away from the hotdogs."

"At least none of the officials were with you," Seifer said.

"Yeah, my mission leader said the same thing."

"But what about all of that was sneaking?" Seifer asked.

"Well, first I turned the music up really loud - we were on a bus - then at the next red light I just rushed out of the door." The nurse poked her head in the door.

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are up." Quistis sighed.

"Okay, thank you," she said, and walked toward the door, Seifer following her.

"Goodbye!" Zell called.

"See you later," Quistis said.

"Bye," muttered Seifer. They both walked down the cold white hallway in silence, the only sound coming from quiet televisions and the movements of nurses. They walked down the stairs, pass the nurses station, and out into the chill night air of Deling City. Quistis paused by a wooden bench.

"Mind if I sit down a moment?" she asked. Seifer shrugged, which Quistis supposed meant 'yes', and sat down. He followed suit.

"So, what do we tell Gary?" asked Quistis. "That it took longer than usual to get the information from Spikes?"

"Works for me. You know what, we should tell Zell about Gary tomorrow. See what he says about the subject."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. How much longer does he have?"

"Three days, including today."

"Man, that is going to be a long time."

"I know. He's going to be so bored, and everyone will be so worried. Oh, that reminds me, I was going to call Melissa and Selphie. And I should probably call everyone else too."

"Well, I meant a long time for me, because I won't have anymore comic relief, but I guess Zell will be bored too."

"Oh, stop that," Quistis said, rolling her eyes. Seifer just grinned.

* * *

"Okay, I checked the account Seifer set up with Spikes yesterday, and so far there hasn't been any word," Gary said as he walked into the dining room where Quistis and Seifer were sitting the next morning. 

"Hey, it's only the first day," Seifer said. "Naturally, these things take time. First, if she's really that good, she'll want to make sure we're not going to turn her in. Then she'll want to set up a clean meeting place. That means there aren't any bugs," he added, seeing the looks on their faces at his use of the slang terms for the spy activities. Quistis nodded, but Gary looked confused.

"Why would she care about bugs?" he asked. Sefer looked at him in astonishment.

"You mean you've never heard the term 'bugging'?" he said. Gary shook his head. Seifer rolled his eyes to the ceiling, and his had a 'why-am-I-stuck-with-such-a-stupid-person-leading-this-team' look. "What are they teaching you at school? Okay, bugging means spying. If you bug the place, you put up recording devices."

"Oh, I see," Gary said. "I just forgot." Seifer just shook his head.

"After she gets a bug-free place, she'll want her backup in place. Then she'll call us. Might even get a look alike, too. She probably has a lot of enemies."

"Anyway, moving on," Gary said. "We need word from the account until we move ahead. For now, just see if the police have any leads on the sniper attack."

"Why don't you do that?" asked Seifer. "Why do we need to do it all the time?"

"Because I said so," Gary replied. Seifer shook his head.

"That's something you tell children, Gary. Really, you need better retorts. Try that again."

"What...?" Gary said, looking puzzled. Seifer opened his mouth to reply, but Quistis beat him to it.

"Seifer and I will go look into that, okay?" she said. Gary nodded, and walked over to his computer. Quistis hearded Seifer out of the room.

"What was all that about?"

"What?"

"The taunting about his lame retort."

"Oh, that. I need someone to tease now. I just happen to be pissed at Gary."

"Aww, are you concerned about Zell?"

"If a team member is killed on a team that I am a part of, it will be considered suspicious. That's all."

"Uh-huh." Quistis didn't say anything else, but she had heard the concern in his voice earlier. Despite what he said, he wanted forgivness, and still cared about what happened to the people that he had grown up with. Even if that had been a bit obscured for a while. She supposed, in the end, he was only human. All they had to do was show the rest of the world that too.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Miss Trepe, but there have been no leads as to what happened," said the fat constable, sitting behind his bare metal desk. He shuffled a few papers, as though trying to look important, then looked back up at her. "We'll let you hear as soon as there are any leads." Quistis frowned. It had been several days, and still they didn't know who could be behind the attack. 

"You should have a lead by now."

"I know, ma'am, but there's nothing. This guy was good. He got in and out without breaking anything. It's like he knew the codes. And he didn't leave anything behind - no fingerprints, no pieces of cloth, nothing. If it wasn't for the bullet and witnesses, I wouldn't know the guy had been there." Seifer groaned in aggrivation.

"If he knew the codes, that points to an inside job. That's a lead, right?"

"Well, yes..."

"Then why couldn't you say that?"

"I..." He looked about helplessly for a moment, then continued. "At any rate, if there is anything else, I'll let you know."

"Fine," said Quistis, and she left the room. Seifer trailed behind her.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time. We argued with them for fifteen minutes, and we got nothing."

"Not entirely true," said Quistis. "We know they don't want us to help them look."

"Which means we help, right?"

"Of course. We must help them search in the name of 'security and well-being between the nations'."

"Ooo, that's a good one," Seifer said, grinning. He help out his arm, gesturing toward the Presidential Palace.

"Shall we join our fellow searchers now?"

"I think we shall," she said brightly, looping her arm through his, and together they set off toward the massive building.

* * *

They reached the site, but were hindered by a guard. 

"No one may enter this place," he said. "There is an investigation underway."

"I know," Quistis said as sweetly as she could, though Seifer could see from her eyes that she was getting angry. "We're here to help. A SeeD on our team was injured here, which makes us a part of this investigation."

"If a civilian was killed, the family wouldn't be searchers in the investigation. If a buisnessperson was killed, their office workers wouldn't be searchers in the investigation. So you can't help."

"But we were trained to do this kind of thing, which separates us from those other people."

"Well, yes..."

"And it wouldn't be wise to hinder a SeeD doing sanctioned government work, would it?"

"I suppose not..." The guard looked around a moment, then sighed. "Okay, you may enter."

"Thank you," Quistis said, and she walked past the guard, with Seifer following close behind.

"Nice job," he said.

"Another minute, and I would have strangled the guy."

'To be fair, he was only doing his job."

"Yes, I know." Quistis walked up the stairs to a small balcony overlooking the ballroom. "This must be where the shooter was."

"Yeah, because where there is that really dark stain - I think we both know what that is - is visible from here. It would be a good, clear shot too." Quistis and Seifer searched all over the balcony, the stairs, the windows, the ballroom, everywhere - but there were no more signs of the assassin.

"Either the police have all the clues, or the assassin was really good," Seifer said as they walked out of the Presidential Palace, and along the street that lead back to Caraway's manor. "I wish I knew what the police saw, when the trail was still hot."

"Yeah. I bet we would have seen more things than them," Quistis murmured, kicking at a stone that lay on the sidewalk. They walked in silence a moment, pondering their next move. A dark clad figure walked by them, hitting Seifer. He turned around, annoyed.

"Hey, watch where..." he stopped as the figure turned around. "Squall? What are you doing here?"


	8. Chapter 7

I am not the proud owner of Final Fantasy. I don't even own the computer I am writing on. I only own my imagination, which seems to have gone on vacation recently.

Author's Note: Yes, these chapters took forever. I'm really sorry, people! Really. But my computer broke, I was busy during the summer, my internet went away... fate was plotting against me. But at least you get a new chapter out of the wait and the whole, revised story, right? At least, I hope that's a good thing. And you ought to read the revisions. The story is way better now.

Anyway, you can now check the progress of my stories on my bio page. I'm going to try and update it often, so you can see what's happening with each story. And now, onto the chapter that took _forever_...

**Chapter Seven: Natalie Illuna  
**  
Squall nodded toward them. "I was looking for you," he said. Seifer frowned in confusion.

"What for?"

"Let's go somewhere quiet. I can explain there." He started off into the distance at a fast pace, so fast that Seifer and Quistis had to jog to keep up. Squall turned down an alley, and walked to the entrance of the city. He exited Deling, and started off across the grassy slopes toward the sea. After about fifteen, he stopped next to a large stone.

"This will do," he said, and turned to face Seifer and Quistis, who had stopped behind him and were watching him curiously. "Sit down." They both sat down on the cool grass. Squall leaned against the rock.

"So what are we here for?" asked Seifer, catching his breath.

"I was going to tell you about my mission, because now I need some assistance, and you are the only SeeDs in the position to help me. It was pretty simple. There were reports of the Deep Sea Research Center being seen near Winhill. Naturally, Cid was concerned, and they sent me to investigate. The Center is there. I saw it myself."

"What is it doing there?" wondered Quistis. "I thought it was between the Island Closest to Hell and the Island Closest to Heaven."

"It was. Someone moved it. I tried to get in by sneaking onto the supply ships, but I couldn't. There were various other entrances I tried, all of which met with failure. I even tried to use Guardian Forces. Nothing."

"Whoa, wait a moment," Seifer said. "Why move the center at all? It was in a pretty isolated place to begin with. Moving it would cause attention. They could do things in secrecy much better at the old location. The reason no one found it until recently was because it was hidden so well."

"Maybe they thought someone would come and look for it in the old spot, and chose to move it," suggested Quistis. "Or perhaps there is something they need near Winhill."

"I don't think it's because they didn't want people to look for the Center at the old spot. For starters, the place is off limits, so no one would be there. Also, there are better places to hide it than near Winhill. There are many isolated places near Centra, and even near Trabia," Squall said. He looked deep in thought, and they could tell he had been working on this same problem since he had seen it.

"Or maybe they want us to investigate it," said Seifer. The three of them sat there, pondering the many options.

"At any rate, we shouldn't just sit here and think about this with nothing to work on," Quistis said, quickly getting to the point, as was her manner. "What exactly do you want us to do, Squall?"

"We think that one of the presidential candidates is involved. A Galbadian government helicopter was seen there last night right before I left. It stayed only half an hour, then left in the direction of Deling. I'm sure that someone who was once high up in the government used the helicopter, which means it's probably a candidate. What I want you to do is keep your eyes open. When you can, talk to the candidates and the high up people at the parties they attend. See who has been interesting in mechanics or science recently, since after the second Sorceress War. Anyone who may have been doing something in the way of sea excavations, maybe. Oh, and you should speak to Natalie Illuna about this if possible. But do try to be discreet."

"Are we going to tell Gary about this?"

"No, not really. I know we should, politically, but I am _this _close to strangling _anyone _who wants to to use political procedures," Squall grumbled. Seifer smirked, but didn't say anything. "So no, we're not going to tell him. Technically, I shouldn't even be telling you, but this is worrying me. If they moved the Center that means they had to have gotten the power online. Where they're getting this energy is unknown."

"So, basically, you want us to lie low and try to get some information, right?"

"Yeah."

"That sounds easy enough," Seifer said. "What do we do with this information when we get it?"

"Yeah. I have a hotel in the city called the Red Rose. Drop it in my mailbox at the front desk. My name is Leon Whitaker."

"Nice name," Seifer commented. Squall chose not to honor that with a responce as he started the trek back toward the city.

* * *

Seifer was sitting at Gary's computer, trying to search for information on the Deep Sea Research Center. So far, all he had was a partial history of the place, and even that wasn't so good.

"Find anything?" asked Quists, covering a yawn that tried to escape her mouth. She passed him a steaming cup of coffee, which he drank gratefully. They were up late, had been up ever since seeing Squall, but they still weren't finding much. Quistis had taken out several books at the library, but she was also not having any luck.

"No. Same for you?"

"Yes." She sighed, and placed her book down. "Maybe we should stop for the night. We don't want Gary upset because we can't do anything tomorrow."

"Good point." Seifer said, shutting the computer down. "I'll just save this information and..."

"What are you doing?" asked a curious voice. They both turned to see Gary standing there, a confused look on his face.

"I was looking up some information..." Seifer said, but Gary cut him off.

"Is it related to the mission that we have?"

"Well, no..."

"Then please don't use that computer. It's not ours, remember. The General has to pay for it." He looked at his watch. "And didn't you get the message I left you in your rooms?"

"No. What message?" Quistis asked.

"Miss Illuna called back. She said that she was willing to meet you in the sewer under the tower at the center of town at 2300. It's 2200 now."

"It is! Shit!" Seifer said. "I'll go get weapons and equipment." He hurried out of the room.

"It's a good thing you came along, Gary. We might not have known."

"Yeah. Look, try and get there as discreetly as you can. We don't want to arose suspicion. Anything you learn or find, report to me in the morning. I'll have new assignments then." He turned, and left the room, almost knocking Seifer over.

"Sorry," Seifer said, then passed Quistis her Save the Queen.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Gary said we should be discreet."

"That's gonna be hard. It's a sewer. We're gonna have to get in through a manhole or the main sewer plant. We could go in through the street entrance, but then we'd be seen by every passing car."

"Actually, it's quite easy."

"Huh?"

"Just follow me, and I'll show you."

* * *

Once again they were in a fight. The stupid Red Bats had to be following them, because they'd had more battles than Seifer cared to count so far. He swung Hyperion at the demon, but it just flew out of his reach, chittering in a way that sounded like laughter. _Okay, you asked for it... _

"BLIZZARD!" he snapped, freezing one of the flying rodents in it's place, and watching it plumet to the green, slimy stones below. He heard a whip crack cruely behind him, and turned to see Quistis dropping three with one hit. _Show off,_ he thought to himself as the creatures slowly started to retreat. He sheathed Hyperion, and started down the passage after Quistis. "Are we almost there?"

"Just a little further," she said, jumping on another of the wheels. Seifer followed suit quickly, not wanting to get stuck down in the muck and mire of Deling City for the rest of his life. Quistis ran down one passage, then another, and stopped so suddenly he almost ran into her. He managed to stop himself just in time and keep himself out of the raw sewage. _I'm not doing so bad_.

"Why did you stop? Are we there?" he asked, holding his stomach as he tried to regain his breath.

"Yes. Look, there's the ladder that leads upward." He looked, and sure enough there was a ladder out. He glanced around the room again, and frowned.

"So where's Natalie?"

"Right here," said an amused voice. He turned around, and peered into the shadows. He couldn't see a thing, though.

"Where are you?"

"By the wheel." He looked, and sure enough there was several people coming out of the shadows surrounding the spinning wheel. In the lead was a very non-descript woman. She was of medium weight, medium height, medium looks, medium everything. He supposed that was good for her job though. She had shoulder-length brown hair, the top half of which was pulled back into a ponytail, with the exception of the bangs, which hung to the sides of her face and were dyed red, the only distinguishing feature she had. Her eyes were an icy, calculating blue, and they seemed to be naturally narrowed into a predatory glare. She had a high-collared black tank top, a knee-length purple skirt and knee high laced black boots, with no heel. Two long black gloves covered her arm from elbow to mid-finger, and the gloves were held in place by silver clasps. A deep blue belt was secured at her waist, off of which hung a sleek silver pistol, which Seifer had no doubt she knew how to use. She leaned against the wall and smiled faintly, and it appeared to be like the smile of a Torma which has caught, and is now toying with, it's prey.

"You're rather good, you know," commented Natalie, still smiling. "We have no idea where you entered the sewers. My guards were starting to get worried." She gestured to the four guards, all of which were the same: Tall, beefy, and armed. Two women and two men, all of whom looked ready to crack some spines. "But I do know a little about even you, Seifer Almasy, even though you're one of the more elusive people out there."

"I'm flattered," responded Seifer.

"As well you should be," she said, and smiled again. "But you didn't request a meeting to exchange flattering remarks, did you? You're after the chip Galbadia stole."

"How did you..." Even as he said it he realized how stupid it sounded. After all, it was her job to know information. And she was the best of the best. "Yes, you're right."

"Of course, we need to discuss my fee before I can give you any information. I'll decide something reasonable based on what you specifically want to know."

"Basically, we want to know who sent those troops there, and what they plan to do with the chip," Quistis said. "But also, I want to know anything you can get about the Deep Sea Research Center. Not the information the news reports give, of course. The unofficial stuff."

"Hmm. That will be costly information, I can tell you that. However, I think I can procure it." She frowned thoughtfully, calculating the cost in her head. "I think that will round out to an even... five million."

"Five million?" Quistis asked. "There's no way it's worth that much!"

"Well, if you want to allow someone else to get you the information..." she offered.

"No, we'll pay upon delivery," Seifer said.

"Excellent. Shall I contact you through the same route?"

"Sure."

"Very well then. I can see I have my work cut out for me. Then again, the challenge would do me good." She gestured to the guards, two of whom preceeded her up the ladder, the other two following her. She didn't even spare them another glance as she hopped up onto the floor above.

"That is a very powerful woman," commented Quistis. "I'm surprised she isn't in charge of more."

"I bet she could be if wanted to, but she seems content to allow other people to risk their lives for their ideals. And it's paying off."

"True," Quistis murmured. "Ugh, let's just go through here. I can't stand this smell anymore."

"I back that idea up with my whole heart."

* * *

Quistis woke up early the next day, feeling a little tired. Yesterday's adventure had been exhausting, and she figured there would be even more work today. She lay there a moment, contemplating stay in bed an extra hour. Surely she deserved that much, right? But she knew it was merely a fool's wish. And so she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed, and onto the carpeted floor, thankful that they weren't the freezing tiles from Balamb Garden. Groggily she made her way over to the bathroom, and started a nice, warm shower.

She had just finished with putting her clothes on when she heard a knock at the door. She walked over, still drying her hair, and was surprised to see Seifer standing there, fully dressed and awake with two cups of coffee in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"Do you?" he countered.

"Well, no, but it can't be later than nine. I never sleep in that late."

"Actually, it's ten. And I came to get you because Gary's wants our report right now."

"It's ten? But my clock says..." She turned around, wondering if she'd read it wrong. And yet, there in glowing crimson on her bedside table, were the digits nine zero zero.

"It must be an hour late. See, this hall clock says ten," he said, pointing at an ancient grandfather clock. Quistis moaned.

"Oh great," She shook her head, then threw the towel in the bathroom. Seifer handed her one of the coffee mugs, which she took happily, and they walked down the stairs to the room where Gary waited. As they walked Quistis sipped the piping hot coffee, glad it's aroma alone was enough to wake her. She felt much more alert by the time they'd reached the temporary base. Gary was already sitting there, wading through some paperwork. He looked up as then entered.

"Good morning," he said. "Are you ready to give your report?"

"Yes sir," Quistis said, setting the coffee down. "Basically, we meet Natalie, as she agreed to find the information for us. She'll contact us through the box we already set up, and she wants five million gil."

"Five million! Is the information worth that much?"

"Apparently. She seemed to think so."

Gary sighed. "Man, I wouldn't want to pay for that with my own money. Oh well, it can't be helped." He sighed. "Tonight General Caraway is attending a private party with the candidates, something very low-key. I've decided that only one of should attend. Seeing as you two should wait to see what Miss Illuna discovers, I will be the one going. Today there isn't really much we can do except wait and see what's going to happen. Whoever took the AI chip is definitely keeping out of sight for the moment, so we can only wait for more information and for the other person to make their move." He turned back to the paperwork, flipping through it. "You're dismissed."

"Sir," they both said, then started for the door.

"Oh, Quistis?" called Gary.

"Yes?"

"There was a call for you from Balamb Garden. They didn't leave a name or message, just this number. It was a guy, though." He held a piece of paper out, which she accepted.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." He returned to the paperwork without a word. She almost smiled, remembering someone else who had a work ethic like his. She walked out of the room, knowing people like them didn't want to be disturbed.

When she was out in the hall she took a look at the paper he'd given her. The number looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. _Oh well,_ she though, _might as well she who called. _She dialed the number, and listened as the phone rang.

"_Hello, Cid Kramer's office_."

"It's Quistis Trepe, Headmaster. Did you call me?"

"_As a matter of fact, I did. You see, we've decided that as soon as this mission is over, you're to come back to Balamb Garden and take your Instructor test_."

"Oh, thank you!" she gasped, smiling.

"_There is more, m'dear, and it's because of the rest that I've called you. Part of your grade will depend upon the successful passing of Mr. Almasy's SeeD test. The board members and I thought it was only fair, seeing as he was the student you had problems with before. If you can get him to pass, the rest will depend on the test. If not, there is no test_."

"I was under the assumption that he was being tested as we speak." Part of the happiness inside of her fled._ Teach Seifer? He doesn't want to be taught_. She knew he wanted some forgiveness, and she knew he wanted to become a SeeD even more. But she didn't think he'd accept her help, nor allow it.

"_Well, the board thought I was a bit lenient before when I gave him some general guidelines. Now, when any battling takes place, that will serve as his test, and he can fail this time_."

"Who will be testing him?"

"_We're not sure yet. I'll contact you when we decide_."

"I see. I'll notify Seifer immediately."

"_We're all sure you'll do fine,_" Cid said, as though trying to reassure her. As though he could.

"Thank you. And good day, sir."

"_You too_." There was a click on the other end, and the line went dead. Quistis hung the phone on it's cradle, then went to find Seifer. She might as well get it over with. After all, today they could study.

* * *

Seifer walked down the hallway, not sure what exactly to do. He could wander the town, but he didn't think the people of Deling would like that. Garden had always downplayed the fact that one of their students had helped the Sorceress, never mentioning him. When people did ask about the knight that had accompanied Edea during the parade, and the rumors of the knight leading the Galbadian army, Garden had always responded that it wasn't Seifer, that was just a rumor because he'd gone missing during a Garden mission. That was, of course, true, just not in the way Garden meant. They made it seem as though he'd been taken. What had happened was he'd gone. Left them standing there, confused and scared. The people who did connect Seifer Almasy to the knight of Ultimecia never lived long enough to tell anyone about it. His failure was Garden's failure, and they would be damned before they allowed him to bring their reputation down.

"Seifer?" called Quistis from behind him. He turned to see her walking down the hall toward him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I just got a message from Headmaster Kramer. He said you're to take the SeeD test again, and I'm to help you."

Seifer just stood there, dumbfound, for a moment. A thousand thoughts were whirling through his head. He grasped at the loudest one, wanting the silence to end.

"What?"

"You're to take your SeeD test, and I'm to help you," she repeated.

"I mean, I've know this was my test since before the mission. Why's he repeating that?"

"Because now you're going to get a real grade, and you can now fail. The board must've thought he was being to lenient with you."

"Who's gonna test me?"

"I'm not sure. Cid said they were working on that, but they weren't sure."

"Huh. I hope it's a fair, impartial judge."

"I'm sure it will be," she said. She closed her eyes a moment, then looked back at him. "So, you're my student again."

"Funny, that," Seifer muttered. He was afraid he knew where this was going. And her next words confirmed it.

"It's time for us to go study."

"Oh, come on. Can't we wait until tomorrow?"

"Today is the perfect day. We're off. And besides, there's a lot more information that you have to know before you take the newer version of the written test."

"Aw, man."

"I'm sure you didn't have any plans, Seifer."

"Well, yes, but it's the principle of the matter."

"Mmhmm. Come on, let's go."

* * *

Three hours and many arguments later, Seifer was ready to call it quits. He was sure he'd learned all it was humanly possible to learn in the space of three hours, and if Quistis tried to stuff one more piece of information into his skull he was sure it would explode. It would serve her right.

"Seifer? Are you listening?"

"No." He knew there was no point in trying to hide the truth. Quistis always knew, always. There was no way to fool her. "C'mon, can't we go train or something?"

"Do you have any Guardians?" she asked.

"Ifrit, Shiva and Quetzacolt, pretty much. But Garden took them away from me."

"Those are the only ones that'll junction to you?"

"Those are the only ones I've faced."

"Oh my. You need more training than I remember."

"Hey, I can battle any Guardian, any time." Seifer stood up, thrusting the book aside. "I'm not gonna learn another thing. You can't make me." Quistis looked at him carefully for a moment, as though assessing him. He always hated it when she did that, because he knew she was seeing into him, pass the barriers and masks he tried to hold up with the shreds of pride and dignity that remained. He glared at her, trying to stop her piercing eyes.

"Are you a gambler, Seifer?"

The question surprised him. He started, stunned. He'd been expecting a cool assessment, a calm analysis of why he was so very wrong, anything but this. Her face told him she was completely, without a doubt, serious. He tried as hard as he could to analyse what she meant, but couldn't figure it out. "What?"

"I asked if you were a gambler, Seifer."

"You know I am. Remember when I started a casino in that storage crawlspace under the reception room floor? I made almost 2000 gil before Garden Faculty found me."

"I do indeed. But I ask because I want to gamble against you. It's simple. If you can pass my test, you don't have to study anymore books. But if you don't, you will learn the material I give you, and you will study it." Seifer frowned, stunned once again. Quistis definitely wasn't a regular Instructor, but that was probably one of the things that made her such a good one back when she was still teaching. She actually tried to tailor her lesson plans to the each individual.

"So, Seifer, are you willing to bet? Can you back up your words or can't you?" She'd hit a nerve, and they both knew it. He looked her in the eyes, brilliant green meeting icy blue, as he shouldered his gunblade.

"You've got yourself a deal, Instructor."


	9. Chapter 8

I don't own Square-Enix, and I never will. (sigh)

**Chapter Eight: Tomb of the Unknown King **

Seifer and Quistis treked through the grassy plains surrounding Deling City. It was almost noon, and the harsh sun shone overhead. Monster after monster tried to take them down, but as they progressed they started to get a little smarter, as though a warning had been spread through some information system. At each encounter Quistis lectured Seifer on what to do, and what not to do. He suffered through it, knowing that by day's end he wouldn't have to listen to another lecture, read another book, or otherwise waste his perfectly good free time. As they started to get further and further away from Deling he began to wonder exactly what was going on. As far as he knew there was nothing out this way.

"Are we almost there?"

"No," Quistis said. He was thankful that she'd at least given him a guardian, Ifrit specifically. Now he had some real magic power to back up his strength. As they walked along Seifer saw a structure looming in the distance, surrounded by trees at the end of the pennisula. As they neared the place the monster battles thinned, as though even the monsters feared and respected the area. Seifer thought this was a rather ominous sign, but didn't comment on it. Finally they were at the trees, and Quistis stopped in a stone courtyard, overgrown with vegetation and covered in a green slime. Behind her was a shadow filled threshhold, out of which emitted a low growl. Seifer spun his gunblade lazily, and grinned his cocky, trademark smirk.

"So, what's in there?"

"A test of your skills, both strength and wits. To be a SeeD, you must have both. Many puzzles will be placed before you, many twisted webs of information. You must unravel these to discover the truth and complete your mission. This place, this Tomb of the Unknown King, is the home of the Guardian Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur. Somewhere within these walls the Guardian rests. It will be your skills, both mental and physical, which determines if the guardian will be disturbed today, and if the guardian will become your summon." She smiled, a decidedly unpleasent smile. Seifer's eyes narrowed. _That was an odd speech. I wonder what she means by it...?_ "Are you ready, Mr. Almasy?" Seifer's smirk grew broader, and grasped his gunblade firmly.

"I was born ready."

"Good. You will proceed at the front, as a leader. I am here merely as backup. I won't interfere unless it's necessary. If I have to interfere, it means you fail my test. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, Instructor. But you might as well wait out here."

"I have to go in. I have to make sure you don't cheat or something." She gestured toward the door. "The rest is up to you." Seifer smiled. _All right, let's do the mental checklist... Curative spells, destructive spells, items, gunblade, perfect health. I think I'm good to go._

He started off into the darkness, his steel-tipped boots clicking against the flagstones of the entrance. To the left and right water ran, and there was a slight light coming in through the roof. He passed a skeleton, and was immediately faced with a choice. _Hmm, which way should I go...? _he wondered, looking down each passage way. They seemed to be the same, but were they? _Okay, eeny, meeny, miny, moe!_ he though, picking the straight passage. He started down it, and was greeted by a similar choice. He went with the straight passage again, and was rewarded by a wide expanse of water. He could see a bridge on the far side, as well as a small building. He inspected the water closely, wondering if he could swim in it. He wasn't so sure he wanted to, though. It was an unusual green color, and the walls on the otherside didn't look easy to climb. He turned around, and realised the passages looked the same as when he'd come from the other direction.

"What's going on?" he demanded, annoyed.

"I said this was a test, Seifer."

"Yeah, but I though it would be fighting, not riddles!" Seifer snapped, glaring at her. _It's her fault. She was tricking me, better than I've ever managed to trick a person. Damn she's good. _

"Didn't you hear me? Being a SeeD isn't always about policing others, something you never understood, which is why you failed. In your mind SeeDs fought the bad guys and won, no matter what. What you failed to see was the preparation, the work, the subtle maneuvering and the finesse involved. For each hour you speant in battle another fifteen went into making sure you got that far. We are not a police force, Seifer, and we're more than mercenaries. We're spies, we're ambassadors, we're politicians, we're manipulators and we're mediators." Quistis took a breath, looking him straight in the eyes. Seifer felt a little unnerved by this, but he looked right back, holding her gaze without any outward sign of unease.

"Do you understand yet? Our political work determines the outcome of the battles we face. If we're guarding someone, then out ability to conceal them depends on our mental skills. If we're here, trying to discover who raided Dollet, our mental skills will aid us in getting close to the subjects and subtly interrogating them, without them ever knowing. If you want to become a SeeD then you need to understand this, and be able to do it. Why did you fail your last test? Because you didn't understand that we have to use the subtle, political movements before we do so. You went straight into attack, without pondering why Dollet wasn't following them. You had orders, and you didn't obey them. And they, the client, had their reasons for not following. If they don't want it, we don't do it. That is why you failed, because you can't get that into your thick skull."

Seifer frowed, digesting this. When she said it, it made him realize that maybe he was missing something. Just maybe. _But it's true when I think about it. Garden has had people silenced merely because they might discover something that embarrasses them. They aren't letting me back out of compassion, they think I'm a bomb about to explode. They're just keeping me close, so that if I do explode they can control me. They _are _politicians, despite what they say. Why are they willing to retesting Quistis? Because she's a fuckin' hero and they don't want her complaining about them, they need to use that Instructor image for their own gain. We're just pawns to them, to be controlled completely and totally. That's why they demand perfect obedience, that's why they wanted orphans. They need this from me. From all of us. Me, Quistis, even Squall and Rinoa are pawns. How many other players do they have we aren't aware of? _He wanted to do nothing more than sit down and digest this information, but he couldn't stop now. If he let her interfere he would lose the bet. Even if he'd just discovered Garden's worse secret he couldn't stop now. His pride would not allow it. So he took a deep breath, and chose a passage.

* * *

Quistis knew they were lost. Even through Seifer didn't want to admit it, they were lost. She knew they had to be. She and the others hadn't spent nearly this much time in the tomb without running into something. But Seifer continued on ahead, pretending to be cool and confident, chosing passages at random. And they continued to get deeper and deeper into the tomb, fighting annoying Blobras that had secret weaknesses. And they were running out of scan spells. Finally, the passage they were in began to change. The could hear running water. Seifer perked up at the noise, and walked briskly ahead. They were in an area with a switch and a wide expanse of water visible at the end of the tunnel. Seifer walked over to the switch.

"Floodgate," he read. "Hm, a floodgate leading water to...?" He looked around a bit, then grinned. "Might as well." He reached out, and pulled the switch down. There was a gush of water, and it started to flood down a path and out of sight. Seifer looked at it as it rushed away, then shrugged.

"That was dangerous, you know," Quistis remarked. "That might have hit us, instead of going into that channel."

"Yeah, well, what's the point of an adventure without risk?"

"You're taking this test a little too lightly, Seifer." She was about to talk again when Seifer held up his hand to forestall her, and she stopped at the serious look on his face.

"Before you start, I know." He raised his voice a bit in an imitation of her. "You're not being responsible enough, and you're daring to have some fun, so you're a failure."

"I never said that," Quistis defended, trying very hard not to lose her 'Instructor cool'. Seifer really knew how to get under people's skins. In the last two hours she had gained a whole new level of sympathy for Zell.

"Maybe not those words exactly." He cut off her next words again. "Look, I am too taking this seriously. I just don't want to walk around as though someone's just died, ya know?" He smirked at bit at that last part, as though remembering Fujin and Raijin. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen them since Lunatic Pandora. For a brief moment she wondered where they were. "I just like to pretend it's not as serious as it is. I'm enjoying life better this way. But I'm really treating this like a real test, a really serious situation. Really." He gave her his best innocent look. Quistis just shook her head.

"I guess there are some things that never change, no matter how many years have gone by."

"That's what makes me so wonderful," Seifer said. "Now let's get going. I want to get out of here in time to eat dinner."

* * *

In the next hour they managed to find yet another switch, which Seifer had flipped as quickly as he had the last. Quistis didn't say anything this time, merely watched, trying to remain just like a true observer. Now they were walking down yet a third shadowy passage. Seifer was looking tired, but he remained as sure as ever. They entered a room with a stone shape at the edge of it.

"What's that?" Seifer wondered, walking forward to inspect it. Quistis noted with a tinge of pride he'd listened to one of her lessons, and was holding his gunblade at the ready. Maybe he can learn. Seifer drew slowly closer, and leaned down to look at it. Suddenly, a shape jumped out at him. Seifer recoiled in shock for a quick second, then brought his gunblade up in a denfensive guard. The creature growled at him.

"WHO DARES TO DISTURB ME AGAIN?" he demanded, pumping his fists energetically in the air. Seifer's mouth twitched into a grin.

"I do, that's who. Now step aside, or taste the steel kiss of my gunblade." He raised it into strike position. The guardian laughed.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

"It doesn't matter. You're in my way. Now tell me, where is the guardian of this Tomb?" Seifer said. The Guardian laughed at him again, a rumbling laugh that probably could cause earthquakes. _Then again,_ Quistis admitted silently, _that probably isn't far from the truth, when you take into consideration which Guardian this is. _

"I AM PART OF THE BROTEHRS GUARDIAN FORCE, SACRED." Even faced with this startling piece of information Seifer never lost his stride. He just smirked right back at Sacred and leaned casually on his gunblade, as though they were having a polite talk.

"I'm sacred? Huh, never knew that," Seifer said in amusement, taunting the guardian. Quistis didn't think that was such a wonderful idea, but she couldn't interfere. She was having too much fun watching Sacred's face turn several shades of scarlet. Deep, deep scarlet. Sacred roared again.

"NOOO! MY NAME IS SACRED, ONE OF THE BROTHERS, IMBECILE! WE ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU!" Seifer's smirk grew broader from the taunt. He leaned back off his gunblade, then raised it to point right at Sacred.

"Then invite your brother in here and I'll fight both of you."

"I'M NOT GOING TO DISTURB MY BRO. WE'LL SETTLE THIS HERE, NOW." Without warning Sacred swung his mace at Seifer, who quickly twisted out of the way and struck at the exposed left side. Sacred danced away, leaving him with a mere flesh wound, and struck again. The blow caught Seifer in the ribs, causing a sickening crack. Quistis found herself crossing her fingers, wishing him luck. He cast Cure, then cast Protect upon himself. Sacred struck the wounded side, but the damage was reduced by the Protect spell. Seifer faked to the right, then struck Sacred's wounded left side. Sacred roared in pain, then countered with an Quake.

Seifer stumbled back to his feet, and cast Cure. Sacred struck again, knocking Seifer flat on his rear once again. Seifer closed his eyes, and stayed in that position for a moment, summoning Ifrit.

"Quistis, question," he hissed as he put all his will into summoning Ifrit.

"Shoot," she said casually.

"Is my objective to defeat him or both of them?"

"Both of them."

"I was afraid you'd say that. Oh well, I can take them." A light surrounded him, signaling the end of the summoning. He disappeared, momentarily displaced in whatever realm it was that belonged to the Guardians as Ifrit appeared to answer his summon. Sacred seemed to be weakened, but the power of the earth allowed him to regain a small portion of his health.

"SHIT!" Seifer cursed. "He has a Regen spell!" He put his hand up toward the creature. "Dispel!" Sacred just grinned ferally as the spell missed him. Quistis shook her head. _No, no, he's earth-based. Don't you remember anything from this afternoon...? _

"Oh shit," Seifer hissed again. "Where is the spell coming from! Fire Cross!" he added, noticing he was low on health. He cast a Firaga spell at Sacred, then raced in for a rough gunblade slash. Sacred recoiled in pain. Sacred beat the earth with his mace, causing Seifer to be unbalanced. He hit the floor hard, then stumbled to his feet.

"Curaga," he hissed, and the warm, healing light engulf him. When it died away he raised his gunblade with his newly regained strength. "Tornado!" he shouted, raising his hand at the guardian. The powerful winds whirled around Sacred, lifting him up and dropping him again. The guardian shook itself, then jumped up, screeching at the top of his lungs, which was very loud indeed.

"OW! OKAY, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT! MY BIG BRO'S GONNA HEAR ABOUT THIS!" he screamed, racing away at lightning speed. Seifer cast Cura, the sat down on the abandoned pedestal. Quistis sat down next to him as he caught his breath.

"Not bad," she admitted. Seifer just looked at her wearily.

"What do you mean, not bad? I spent most of that battle sitting on my ass!"

"Well, aside from that." Quistis was starting to enjoy this. Seifer didn't need to know that when they'd come through here three of them had fought, not just Squall. But she was enjoying her teasing a little too much. _Maybe that's why they think I'm not a good instructor. Or maybe Seifer and I are better friends than student and instructor. Just like at the orphanage. _

"Are you ready to move on yet?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He pushed himself up, and shouldered his gunblade. "Wait a minute. I need to have a plan." He looked into space thoughtfully. He seemed to be really thinking. He paced back a forth for a few minutes, swinging his gunblade up and down on his shoulder. Finally, he stopped.

"I've got it. I lowered the bridge for that place in the center, didn't I? No, don't answer that, I'm not gonna stop now. All I have to do is cross it, face the guardian, and we'll be able to leave." He started out the passage, Quistis following him.

"Now if only I knew which way to go..." she heard him mutter under his breath.

* * *

Seifer had had enough of this stupid tomb. The puzzle was practically impossible, and the Blobras were really starting to get on his nerves. It seemed as though for every one he killed five more popped up. He leaned against a wall for a moment to recover. Quistis stopped beside him, not even breaking a sweat. _Oh, you're enjoying this, Quistis, I can tell_. He didn't say anything aloud, though. His victory would be enough.

Finally he saw a familiar landmark - the skeleton he'd passed on his way toward the water area. He turned around, and walked straight at the next two intersections, and found himself once again at the water. This time, however, there was a bridge spanning the gap. Seifer strode across the expanse, but paused before the door. He once again went through his mental checklist and, upon finding everything still in order, walked into the room with confidence.

It was dimly lit, with a stone tomb at the far end. Well, that explains the name of this place, Seifer thought. He walked right up to it, then stopped with his gunblade pointed at the tomb.

"Hey, Sacred! C'mon out, will ya? Or are you too scared?" A rumble answered his calling. "Let's go already. Or maybe you're really the wimp they say you are." The rumble grew, and Sacred jumped down from the ceiling. In a fluid movement Seifer stepped back and raised his gunblade into the guard position. Sacred glared at him.

"BRO! HERE'S THE ONE WHO INSULTED ME!"

"he's a mere human, bro," said a voice. A small version of Sacred jumped out, although they were slightly different, other than size of course. So this must be Minotaur. Not exactly threatening, is he?

"That's the older brother you had to come crying to?" Seifer asked, laughing. "Why don't you show me what you've got?" Sacred looked at Minotaur, who looked right back at him. They turned in unison to Seifer, and their faces were mirrors in that instant. They were ready to wreak havoc.

"agreed," Minotaur said. He raised his mace, and charged Seifer, who quickly dodged the blow. However, Minotaur left no change for Seifer to get him with the same trick he had his brother. He jumped away again, faster than anyone Seifer had ever seen._ I think I may have miscalculated here... _He quickly cast Protect, then Cure. He couldn't afford to lapse too low in health, as that could be deadly during battle. Sacred and Minotaur raised their maces in unison, and sent them crashing to the ground.

"Mad Cow!" they called, and the force knocked him flat, something that had happened entirely too much today. He jumped to his feet, then groaned as their special Regen spells recoverd their health. _And I haven't even hit them yet! _He ran forward, ducked behind their maces, then slammed them both from beind. They roared in pain and whirled around. Seifer ducked behind the tomb as they swung at his head, and rejuvenated his Protect spell. They jumped on the lid of the tomb, and swung their maces downward. If it weren't for the Protect spell Seifer had no doubt he would be dead. _Damn, I'm cornered... _Suddenly, an idea came to him. He jumped up.

"Fira!" he shouted. "Fira!" As the flames licked their faces he quickly ran away from the tomb, back out into the open, and swung around to face the enraged brothers as he cast Curaga on himself. They both ran at him, maces raised. All of a sudden Quistis's voice floated through his head from their tutoring this afternoon.

_(When battling guardians you have to remember that they are healed from their respective elements, if they have one. For example, when Fire magic hits Ifrit, he's healed. But that doesn't necessarily mean they have to be hit by that spell. If their surroundings are composed of their element, they'll be healed by that. Take an earth-based guardian, for example. They merely have to be on the ground to be cured by the earth.) _

_They're earth-based!_ The realizationg slammed into him just as their maces did. He jumped back, and grinned triumphantly. _Thank Hyne I have some Float spells... _"Float!" he shouted, and felt invisible wings lift him upward. Now let them use their stupid special. "Float! Float!" he said, and both the brothers were lifted in the air. _Now we're getting somewhere. And to top things off..._ He concenrated on the faint buzzing in the back of his brain that was Ifrit, summoning him forth. He could feel their maces hit him, but the guardian absorbed the damage.

"Hell Fire!" he called, before he disappeared. It was always weird to be transported to the realm of the guardians as they took your place on earth. You could sense beings moving about you, but you didn't know quite where they were. It was as though you were the loudest thing there, and were being held aloft for people to look at in amusement as they wandered by, like visiting a zoo. It was decidedly uncomfortable, and Seifer was always glad to leave. He supposed it wasn't too bad for the guardians, but then again they were much more powerful than he was.

He reappeard in the tomb just in time to see Sacred run away. _Oh yeah, only one more to go. _But Minotaur seemed to have gained his departed brother's strength, added it to his own, then multiplied the sum by a hundred. He attacked with speed and ferocity, and it was all Seifer could do to keep himself cured and keep them both off the ground. There was a sickening thud, and he realized dimly that he was on the ground. He could taste metallic blood in his mouth, and he was sure many bones were broken. Minotaur stood over him, mace ready to come crashing down on him.

_I never thought it would end this way..._ Suddenly Minotaur recoiled in shock, then jumped away. Seifer manuvered himself into a sitting position, and saw Quistis battling the fiend. She flicked her whip, jumped away from the mace, and hit him with a Tornado. As he whirled around Seifer jumped to his feet, feeling his limit break at the edge of his conscious. As Minotaur landed Seifer charged, having the element of surprise.

"Fire Cross!" he shouted, and cast a Firaga. Then he whirled his gunblade around, and smacked Minotaur. The guardian groaned, and threw him aside like a sack of potatos.

"Cura," Seifer whispered, and felt the warm light engulf him, seeping into his very being, healing him, although it wasn't completely and totally. He jumped up, hoping to make the best of it, but immediately fell back down as a wave of nasuea slammed into him like a rampaging Ruby Dragon.

He glanced up, and saw Quistis' guardian, Diablo, finish Minotaur with one super powered gravity sphere. Quistis stopped for a moment, breathing in and out. She cast cure, then hurried over to where he lay. She knelt down and looked Seifer straight in the eye.

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking at him in concern. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked down at his feet a moment, suddenly feeling very nervous. Well, he'd just have to bite the bullet. He looked back up at her.

"Thanks for your help." She smiled graciously, not making a big deal out of it the way Zell would, yet grateful for the slight sacrifice of a part of the dignity and pride he'd always hidden behind.

"You're welcome." Minotaur and Sacred walked up to them, and Minotaur tossed a green stone at Quistis' feet.

"here's our guardian stone, used to summon us. when you call us we'll answer." They left without a whisper. Seifer, tired of the oppressing heat and stale air that seemed to permeate from the tomb itself, walked back outside, into the courtyard. He sat down beside the water, and took a moment to breath in some fresh air. He looked between the trees, and saw the streaks of light that always accompanied sunset starting to appear on the horizon. Quistis came out a moment later, tossing the green stone up and down in her hand. She stopped in front of him, and looked down. She held out the stone, which sparkled despite the faint light, as though it had a will of it's own.

"Here," she said. Seifer looked at it, stunned.

"But...I failed your test. I shouldn't recieve this." It killed him to be offered a Guardian and refuse it, but he really wanted to earn it. For the first time in a long time he actually wanted to do something right. _Hyne, maybe I'm really changing_. Quistis smiled at him, as though she could guess his thoughts. And maybe she could. She'd always known was was going on with him.

"Seifer, I set you up with an impossible test to get you to start studying. But the reason I chose this place was because I wanted you to learn my lession about finesse and politics. I think you have, as you've demonstrated here from your figuring out the maze, from the knowledge you remembered about their strengths and weaknesses. In a sense, there were two tests. I think you passed the most important one. I'm offering this to you as your reward." She offered the stone to him again, and this time he accepted it. He reached his mind into the stone, junctioning the Brothers. He smiled as the power filled him, making him stronger.

"Just remember, you still lost the gamble. You have to study, and study hard. Or I'll come after you with Diablo, and he's always really angry at something and looking for someone to vent his anger on," she threatened, shaking her finger at him the way a parent would. He grinned, amused, and nodded. Then jumped up off the ground, sheathed his gunblade, and started out onto the bridge. Then something made him stop.

"Squall had the Brothers, I remember that... I bet he did better than I did, huh?" Quistis smiled at him, but this time it was a smile that was genuinely warm.

"Actually, two of us went with him. Naturally, only two of our group could've taken them, but there was a third for support, to do the mundane stuff like recasting status spells."

"I guess I didn't do too bad after all." Seifer walked out of the shadow dappled courtyard and into the darkening sunset sky toward Deling, feeling much better about the day. He started whistling faintly to himself, something he'd never done before. But then again, he'd never had a reason to before.

_In fact, I was pretty damn good.

* * *

_

ShadowMecha: No, it's just a clock...


	10. Chapter 9

Do you know what I just heard online? Square-Enix doesn't want to sell Final Fantasy to some high school student with only ten dollars to her name. Sad, isn't it?

Author's Note: So sorry about the wait on this. Next chapter I'll finally be getting some more action to occur. This chapter begins to lay the groundwork for that action, and the climax.

**Chapter Nine: Calm Before the Storm**

Seifer and Quistis walked back into Deling City, tired but alive. As though the creatures had sensed the power of the brothers with them, they'd kept away from them like they were carrying the plague, chicken pox and rabies rolled into one. That was fine for them, though, because they were still tired from the endless fights in the Tomb of the Unknown King. As Seifer walked he kept thinking about what Quistis had said.

_She has to be right. After all, that's why Gary's in command. Because of politics, not what may or may not be best for the group. _A new thought struck him out of nowhere. _Then what's my part in this? After I become a SeeD, and they can watch me better, do I die in an 'accident'? Or do I just stay in the lower ranks with no chance for advancement? Do I even want this anymore? _His thoughts seemed to be whirling around in a circle at a very fast pace like a carousel with something very wrong, but he couldn't stop the ride. He just kept whirling and whirling, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Seifer? Where are you going?" asked a voice, breaking into his thoughts. He looked up, and realized he'd managed to change course away from Deling in his musings. He quickly changed direction.

"Thanks for the heads up." he said. Quistis nodded.

"No problem. What are you thinking so much about?"

"Mostly what you said." As soon as he said it he regretted it. Quistis smirked at him.

"You were actually thinking about what I said? Well then, you can learn!" She clapped her hands, still smirking. Seifer scowled.

"Hey, stop it! That's not funny!"

"Sure it is. You're actually thinking about a lesson. Maybe it should become a national holiday. 'Seifer learns something new' day, perhaps."

"C'mon, knock it off!" Seifer pleaded, waving his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay." She kept walking along in silence for a moment, and then turned back to him. "Still, you have to admit it's unusual."

"We all have to make sacrifices for what we really want."

"And what is it you really want?" she asked him curiously. That stopped him. _What is it that I really want? I know I don't want to be a SeeD anymore, at least not badly. I can't be a sorceress' knight even if I want to. Fujin and Raijin are god knows where, and most of Garden hates me. What ambitions did I ever have besides being a SeeD and a knight? _The answer made him feel dizzy._ Nothing. I had no idea what else there was to life. I just wanted to do two supposedly simple things. I was so focused on those I forgot about everything else. No wonder Ultimecia ensnared me in her web so easily. I had such a simple mind... I truly was a child...  
_  
"Um, Seifer? That wasn't supposed to be a profound question, just mild curiosity." Quistis said, looking at him nervously. He just blinked. The dizzy feeling hadn't left him yet.

"But now that you say it, I realize I don't know what I really want. Before I was going to be a knight and a SeeD. But now... I'm not sure if that's what I want anymore. Because you were right. Garden in a political organization, no matter what they say. All I'm ever going to be is a pawn to them. I don't want to live my life like that. But I don't know where else to go, what else I can do. All I ever did well was killing things, but that fills me with revulsion now." He looked up at her, and noticed she was watching him silently, as though she was really listening and thinking about what he said. It was a nice feeling to know that someone cared enough to listen to him. He quickly changed the topic before she started to read too much into his little statement.

"By the way, what was that back at the tomb?"

"Excuse me?" She blinked, and it appeared as though he'd stumped her, something that he should be proud of. He didn't manage to do that often.

"You seemed concerned about me."

"Oh, that." Seifer thought her cheeks looked tinged in pink, but he wasn't sure. "Well, if you die on me it looks bad in my record. Purely professional."

"Uh-huh..." he said in a sing-song voice, taunting her.

"Believe what you want," Quistis said, waving a gloved hand at him dismissively. She started walking again, and Seifer followed her through the gates.

* * *

That night Quistis lay down, but her eyes refused to close. Instead, her thoughts drifted to a certain blonde antagonist. So far, he was even more confusing than Squall. After learning a little more about Squall, he had been easy to predict. The mannerisms, the words, the actions, everything. But Seifer was something else. She thought she had him figured out, then he'd turn around a do the exact opposite, surprising her.

She fell back into her memories of him. She remembered his speech to her about how she was better than Squall and everyone else seemed to think. But had he just said that because he didn't like Squall? She had assumed that at first, but now she wasn't so sure, especially after the concern toward her and even Zell he had shown at the hospital. He might have been genuine. Then again, he had thrown food at her, and that was something that Quistis simply didn't approve of.

Still, she wanted to help him. That had to be why she was putting up with him. Because she'd seen him crying, and because she remembered the way he used to be before he was so cruel and sardonic. Back when he had acted tough and he'd teased, but it hadn't been as bad as it was when he'd grown up. And he'd even showed he'd cared back then, something he had only just started doing again, slowly. After all, he'd escaped from Garden, even going so far as to allow him to help, just because he didn't want Squall, Selphie and Zell screwing up. What had gone so horribly wrong?

And yet another conundrum presented itself. He was always trying so hard to take the easy way out, trying to skip learning as much as possible. And yet today he had done the exact opposite of what she'd expected. She'd been testing him by presenting him with the stone. She wouldn't have taken it back if he'd accepted, but then she'd have a reason to be annoyed at him, and yet he hadn't. Perhaps she was overanalyzing this, like she had her sisterly instincts toward Squall. She stared at the ceiling, the triangle pattern on it becoming burned into her retinas.

_Oh my Quistis, here you go again. Trying to figure people out just because you want to know what makes them tick_. She chuckled slightly. She always seemed to focus on the troubled ones.

She sat up, unable to sleep. She frowned as she stared out the window, although she didn't really see it or the wonderful view of Deling under the stars. _Okay, it's time to stop thinking about him,_ she told herself forcefully. She got up, deciding to go downstairs for a drink of tea, which always helped soothe her when she was feeling confused. As she passed Seifer's door, she noticed the light was on. _I wonder why he's awake?_ she thought as she descended the shadowy, carpeted stairs.

* * *

Seifer was sitting on his bed, trying to read his _Weapons Monthly_ magazine. Instead, he was mentally cursing himself for his actions so far.

_Why, oh why did you have to bare your heart to her, asking for forgiveness and telling her that you don't what you want anymore? She'll just analyze you with that psychology major of hers. Why couldn't you suck it up, instead of telling her practically everything? That was so stupid..._

He got up, and began to pace. He still didn't understand what had made him impulsively trust Quistis all this time. It had happened all of a sudden, before his brain to get a word in the conversation. And now here he was, wishing that he could change the past. Well, as long as he wanted the impossible, why not change when he had first followed Edea, or when he had first met the sorceress Ultimecia as a child? Then she wouldn't be in this mess with Gardens and AI chips and shadowy people and information brokers and mysterious moving monoliths.

_It was your own weakness that made you become a monster. Don't let them think you're still weak. After all, a weak person wouldn't come back, right?_

Sighing, he continued his pacing, to the wall, to the bed, back to the wall._ This may not have been such a good idea after all._ Zell had been mad at him (although he may have grudgingly accepted his existence), Squall was mad at him in his own way, and Quistis probably thought he was a crazy person, or some sort of annoying slacker.

Seifer walked over to the small patio door, and drew out his cigarettes. It was a habit he'd picked up over the past six months, even though he knew that it was bad for him. But he needed something to calm his nerves, and this was the best way he could think of. Besides, he was sure that someone would kill him before the tar would. Everyone within Garden hated Seifer Almasy, the Traitor. And if the people outside knew the truth and that he was under Garden protection there would be so many mobs they'd kill him themselves and throw his body into the sea on worldwide broadcast just to stop the lack of clients. He light up a cigarette, and watched the smoke rise into the sky.

_That smoke, that unhealthy, unintelligent cloud of smoke is freer than I am. And probably freer than I'll ever be._ He shook his head to clear those thoughts, and leaded against a nearby tree. Whatever would he do with himself?

* * *

Zell had done it again. He'd forced his hand out, grabbed the receiver and dialed Melissa's number before he could think about it. He heard the ringing, and then the phone was answered.

"_Hello?_ " asked a curious voice. He knew immediately that it wasn't Melissa.

"Um, hi. Is Melissa there?"

"_No, she's on duty._"

"Where?"

"_Library._"

"Is there a number down there?"

"_Sure._" There was a pause. Seconds reached a minute, and minutes seemed to reach hours.

"May I have it?"

"_Oh, sure. It's 872-34-497_."

"Thanks. Bye."

"_Uh-huh,_" muttered the voice, and the receiver went dead. _Wow, how weird was that?_ He called the number that she'd given him.

"_Hello?_" asked a familiar voice.

"Hey, Melissa. It's me, Zell."

"_Zell? What are you doing?_"

"Calling you, of course."

"_Well, yes, I gathered that. I just meant that I'm on duty right now._"

"Yeah, I know. But I haven't spoken to you in a while, so I thought that I'd call you. Sorry to interrupt your work, though."

"_It's all right. Nothing much was happening now anyway. How's your injury?_"

"Oh, I can't complain. Thanks for the box of chocolate. It really cheered me up _and_ it was probably healthier than the hospital's food-like substances."

"_I knew that you'd like it. I was going to get you the Combat King, but Quistis said that she'd already given you some._"

"Yeah, she did. But it's the thought that counts."

"_True. It was the first thing that I thought of, though, while I was in the library, because that's the only thing I've ever seen you read._"

"Yeah, I don't like to read much."

"_It's funny, how we're dating and I like to read while you dislike it._" She had just used the one, or rather, one of the few words he had been avoiding during the time they had been seeing each other. He refused to let his nervousness show through, though.

"Yeah, that is pretty weird. But then again, look at Squall and Rinoa. If you want two opposites you don't need to look any further." Okay, so it was a desperate maneuver to get away from anything serious, but it seemed to work.

"_That is so true,_" Melissa admitted. "_So, how has your mission been?_" He knew she meant how was it going with Seifer, as she obviously knew that he couldn't discuss mission details to anyone.

"It's been…trying," he finally said. She laughed lightly on the other end. "So, how are you doing?"

"_Pretty good. I just heard about the best book from my sister called _Black Rose_, but I can't find it anywhere. As I don't have any missions, most of my time has been split between finding that book and getting something for her birthday._"

"I hope you manage to find something. I always had trouble getting other people stuff. They either already had it or they didn't really want it."

"_That's too bad,_" she murmured. "_I'm surprised you haven't called before. Been that busy?_"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"_You don't need to apologize! It was just a comment._"

"Sorry," he said again, then quickly wished that he could take it back. She just laughed on the other end, causing him to feel more embarrassed than before. At least she couldn't see his crimson face.

"_Why are you so nervous?_"

"I-I'm not nervous," he quickly said.

"_You are too! Every time you get nervous, you stutter and apologize._"

"Well, I guess that happens when I talk to a pretty lady." Okay, so he had taken that line from Irvine, but he didn't know what else to say that sounded cool and yet nice. Fortunately, Melissa wasn't exactly Irvine's friend, so she wouldn't tell him. If Irvine learned that he'd used one of his lines he'd never, ever live it down.

"_I'm miles away in Balamb, Zell, and you can't even see my face._"

"Well, this is different!" he exclaimed, quickly covering for himself, which was why the next words managed to slip out. "I love you." He'd never meant for her to learn it like this, over the phone where she couldn't see the sincerity in his eyes. He could only hope that she wouldn't take this news too oddly. After all, they had been more casual before. Now, who knew? And her silence from the other end wasn't helping matters at all.

"_What?_" she said. Zell took a deep breath. He didn't have a time machine, he didn't have special sorceress abilities. All he had left going for him was honesty, so he might as well take a stab at it.

"I love you," he repeated quietly. Once more there was silence on the other end, and Zell suddenly felt light-headed.

"_You know, Zell… I love you too,_" she said, and he blinked. That was the last thing that he'd expected.

"Really?"

"_Really_."

"BOOYA!" That was embarrassing, but he couldn't exactly hold it in.

"_I'm flattered_," she said, laughing. "_Sorry, Zell, but I have to go. Give me a call later, okay?_"

"Yeah, definitely."

"_And try not to take as long!_"

"Sor-"

"_Don't you dare._"

"Okay," he said. "Goodbye."

"_Goodbye_."

* * *

"We've gotten some information from Natalie about Darius and Marcus Deling working together in secret," Quistis announced to Seifer and Gary as she walked into the room the next morning, after having gone to check their drop box. The two looked up, interested.

"Really? What else does the message say?" questioned Gary.

"Only that 'someone' observed them meeting together at a small nightclub, unnamed, in the lower section of Deling earlier today, as well as two days ago. It was overheard that they mentioned something about Esthar and Winhill, but other than that there was nothing."

"That's fascinating," Gary muttered, staring at the ceiling deep in thought. Seifer raised his eyebrows at Quistis, clearing not missing the importance of the mention of Winhill. They both clearly remembered what Squall had said to them about the Research Center. "I think I'll go look into those two places. Why don't you wait here for Zell? The hospital called to say that he was released and coming back here."

"That's wonderful!" Quistis said. "We will wait here."

"Excellent," he said, and disappeared. She turned to Seifer.

"So, what have you gotten on the Research Center?" she questioned.

"Not a lot. I did manage to find out that the people of Shumi created it, as they did the Gardens. It's my thought that they have something hidden in it, as the Gardens were also carrying hidden things. What this is happens to be beyond me, though."

"Most things are," said a mocking voice. Quistis smiled.

"Zell, you're back! How's your arm?" she asked, hugging him. Seifer merely nodded.

"Fine if you don't squeeze the blood out of it," he laughed, pushing her away. "What's been happening and what's hidden where?"

Quickly, the two outlined their conversation with Squall and what they'd learned. Zell processed this a moment.

"Did you tell him about this already?" he asked.

"Yes, I sent him a message the moment I got the news," Quistis said. "Now I'm wondering what we're going to do."

"All we really can do is try and figure out what exactly is going on here in Deling, and why they wanted that AI chip. I personally think it's for a computer. It would make sense, having a great intelligence. With something like that they could take on even Esthar."

"That's true, Seifer," Quistis said. "It's even plausible, as Esthar was mentioned. I think we need to get to Winhill, but we need a logical reason to do so."

"What if we suggest that Caraway go there for a quick retreat?" suggested Seifer. "He can leave right after the ball tonight, and come back before the elections. We can say it's for safety."

"Run that part about a ball by me one more time," Zell said.

"Didn't you guys hear about this? They scheduled the ball for tomorrow evening."

"Well, thanks for telling me," murmured Quistis. "Okay, that sounds reasonable enough. We'll suggest that Caraway lie low in Winhill for a while, and there we can look around. They won't like SeeDs being there, nor government officials, but we'll disguise ourselves as best we can."

"Sounds good to me. I could use a vacation anyway," Zell said.


	11. Chapter 10

Okay, so there was supposed to be action. But then this got way longer than I thought it would, so the next chapter's going to have some serious action.

Lady Deathstryke: I was in such a hurry to get my last chapter out I never thanked you for being my only reviewer. So, thanks. It means a lot to know someone is reading my story. I'm so glad you enjoy this is so far. And the Seifer/Quistis stuff starts to pick up quite a bit here.

Okami: Thanks! Too bad Square-Enix got a restraining order, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, and I make no money from this. That means I am broke. Suing me in futile. Unless you like lima beans…

**Chapter 10: Kidnapped! **

"You want to what?" asked Gary, startled, as he looked up at Quistis, Seifer and Zell, who were standing side by side in front of his desk.

"We want to take General Caraway to Winhill after the latest debate so he lies low for a while," Quistis repeated. "It seems to be a reasonable move, and we may all benefit from leaving the scene and returning after a day or two. Besides, he seems to be getting stressed out anyway," she added. Gary frowned at them as he considered their words, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"I'll consider your idea. But why the sudden push?" he asked. "I mean, why are all of you in on this all of a sudden?"

"We just think it will be healthy for Caraway, and a new sight will help us pick up on some clues we might've missed before," Zell said, jumping from foot to foot, a sure sign of annoyance.

"And he did just receive that threatening letter," Quistis said. As much as she hated to even think it, that letter couldn't have come at a better time. It only strengthened their case to get Caraway out of Deling for a while.

"I think this is important because I have a lot riding on this mission," Seifer said. "Screwing it up now is not high on my list of priorities."

"Okay, okay. I'll think about it, and let you know," he said, sighing, as though he were finally realizing you couldn't argue with those three when they were this adamant about something. "Dismissed."

"Sir," they all said, then retired to the living room. Quistis and Seifer immediately beat Zell to the couch, aware that he would take it all up again. Groaning in annoyance, he chose to stand rather than sit in the harsh chairs that hated humans with a passion.

"So, we're going to Winhill," Zell said, glancing out the window. "It's a pretty sweet place, unlike here. All they have here is crowded streets and politicians aplenty."

"That's rude," Quistis said, shocked at his words.

"But true," he grumbled, jumping from foot to foot as he turned away from the window to face her. "So, about this stupid dance tonight. I don't want to go."

"Of course you don't. But you have to," Quistis said, sinking into the soft cushions of the couch. "It's our job, remember?"

"I don't care. I don't want to get shot again," Zell countered.

"Thank you can be the one explaining to Squall why you disobeyed the orders of your commanding officer," Seifer said, smirking. He knew Zell would never, ever do that.

"Okay, okay. But I'm going to hate it the whole time, and complain about it at each and every opportunity," he warned them.

"Good to know," Seifer said.

* * *

The dance was definitely a very boring one. Quistis sighed as she sat down at her table, drinking a glass of champagne. It was slightly stale, as they had kept it since the last ball had occurred. And, much to the deep sorrow of Seifer, it was non-alcoholic. She and Seifer had been chosen to go 'undercover' this time, meaning Caraway had set them up with fake IDs and invitations, to work their way through the crowd to find out if anyone was acting suspiciously. Zell hadn't been chosen because he'd received publicity from his injury, and Gary felt that as the leader he should also worry about protection. That had left her and Seifer to do the job. Of course, they had to pretend to have come together on a date, which would explain why they would talk to each other.

Quistis was dressed in a loose-fitting black dress that hung to her knees, tied at the waist with a peach sash. Her shoes were also black, and they had easy to undo straps on them, allowing her to kick them off for mobility incase it was needed. She had chosen to wear her hair down, but the front portion was tied back in a barrette so she could see.

Within the past hour she had worked her way around the entire room, and had met every single stuffy person that was here. Now, unable to take the politics and arguments anymore, she had stepped out onto the small balcony for a breath of fresh air. But she couldn't be absent too long, and after her moment out there was done she walked back into the room, heading toward the table that she and Seifer were sharing.

"Hello, Quistis," said a quiet voice in her ear using her real name, causing her to whirl around. She saw Seifer smirking there as he held out a drink for her. She took it after her heart started beating again.

"Don't _scare_ me like that, Seifer!" she hissed quietly, calling him by his real name as well. She swirled the drink around, looking at him for a moment. He cleaned up rather nicely, a thought which caused her to start blushing. Instead, she looked down at her drink, wanting to hide her embarrassment. She was startled to see that it was off-color, which probably meant they had different drinks out now.

"I didn't poison it," he said, laughing slightly as he took a sip from his own glass to prove his point. She smiled, looking back up at him.

"That wasn't what I was thinking," she said, taking a sip to prove her point. He just smirked and took another drink from his own glass. "Hey, this isn't stale." She took another sip, examining the contents thoroughly. "It isn't even champagne."

"I managed to con a guard out of some brandy, so drink it quick before someone tries to take it," he said. She took another sip, less wary of the substance now. Then she drained the glass for good measure, and set the glass on the table.

"That was definitely great," she said as he placed his empty glass beside hers. "Thanks."

"No problem." They were silent a moment, and Seifer watched the dancers move about for a moment. "Want to dance?" he asked suddenly, causing Quistis to look at him rather quickly in surprise. That was the last thing that she had expected to hear tonight, especially from Seifer of all people. Quickly she spoke to hide her confusion.

"Excuse me?" she said, still unsure if she'd heard right.

"I asked if you wanted to dance," he repeated casually, as though he were commenting upon the weather. She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"I thought you hated to dance."

"Who said that?"

"All the times you tried to escape from the dancing classes at Balamb seemed to be an indicator of that. Like your chandelier adventure - "

"Let's _not_ get into that, shall we? Now, would you like to or not, Miss Charlotte Ceres?" He extended his hand as he spoke her fake name, and she looked at it a moment. Then, shrugging, she accepted.

"Why not, Mr. Alexander Rusch?" she said, repeating his example of using their full fake names. He closed his hand around hers, and led her out onto the dance floor. A fast paced waltz started up, and they took their positions, both knowing from countless classes what they had to do. After a moment they started to whirl around like the other – she had to say the word – couples. He was good at it, something that surprised her. But then again, if he had to do something, he made sure that he excelled at it above the others.

"I was surprised you asked," she commented as they circled the floor, following the tempo. "It isn't exactly something that I ever thought you'd do."

"I was surprised you accepted," he countered, twirling her out then in again before resuming the pace. "I didn't think you like me enough to say yes." She smiled.

"I guess we all do some odd things," she admitted. "And we even surprise ourselves in the process."

"Yeah, I've certain done that before." he said, and then they lapsed into silence, concentrating on the dance movements. Quistis looked at him a moment, surprised at how peaceful he appeared. It really had startled her that he would have asked her to dance, but it was probably just a part of their disguise. After all, they had needed to come to the ball together as part of the act. Although she wouldn't have been upset if he'd asked her for reasons other than that.

"Quistis?" he asked, causing her to wake from her thoughts with a start. She looked at him, and saw that he was looking at her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"What are you thinking about? You look so serious, like you're trying to solve a calculus problem or something."

"Oh, I was just thinking about what was going on," she said, evading the question. She didn't want to explain to him what she had been thinking.

"Like what?" he asked, and she knew that he wasn't going to give up until she answered. Unable to think of a convincing lie, she chose instead to give him part of the truth.

"I was startled that you asked me to dance," she admitted. "But I guess we need to make this disguise seem real, don't we?"

The dance came to an end, and they stood there a moment. Quistis was watching him curiously, and he was looking back at her. Then, as though they suddenly realized their proximity, they both stepped back a few paces.

"We do need to make this disguise real," he said after a moment. "But couldn't I have asked because I wanted to?" And then he was gone, leaving Quistis there, wondering what exactly he meant by that.

* * *

Caraway had agreed happily to head out for Winhill, so Seifer was currently packing his few belonging into a bag for the trip. They had decided to move out that evening in the night, so that no one could follow them easily. And for the people that did, a very nasty surprise in the form of four well-trained soldiers would quickly end their efforts.

Instead of taking the trains, as Zell had told them from personal experience that they were easy to snatch, they were going to travel by car to the other end of the continent, where Winhill was situated. The journey was supposed to take about two days, but anything could happen. So they hadn't described any sort of arrival time. They hadn't even booked a hotel, although Seifer was sure that wouldn't be a problem in the tiny town. How they would react to them might be a problem, but they were only going to be there for a little bit. At least, Seifer hoped they were only going to be there for a little bit. However, he had learned a long time ago that things never went the way he wanted them to. Point in case was the chandelier adventure that Quistis had mentioned yesterday, something that he had been trying with all of his might to never ever remember again.

Thinking of Quistis made him pause in his activities. He still wasn't entirely sure what had come over him at the dance last night, first by asking her to dance then what he had said afterward. It was just one of those things that he hadn't thought through too well; maybe people had a point when they said he spoke first and questioned later. He had been questioning it all night and today, and still he had no answer. Quistis had chosen not to mention it to him at all; he supposed his actions had baffled her as well. But at least she hadn't asked about it. How could he possibly explain to her something that he himself didn't have the answer to?

But there was definitely something behind it, and he was afraid of what it meant. But over this mission, and even before he had felt something when he was around her, something he'd never felt with anyone before. And the implications were too bizarre for him to accept. But was he actually falling in love with his childhood friend?

_That's going to cause more problems that it's worth,_ he thought. _I can't do this to myself, and I can't do this to her. _He'd done entirely too much before and during the Sorceress War. She was having enough troubles with her credentials without being involved with someone like him. Assuming that she even felt the same way, of course. Which seemed highly unlikely, until he looked at the big picture. She did seem worried about them, and they'd been so close as children, and even on rare occasions at Garden, but usually only when there was no one else around. And she had agreed to dance with him.

"Yo Seifer, are you done packing yet?" said Zell, literally bounding into his room. He looked up, startled from his thoughts.

"I will be in a moment. How about the rest of you? Are you all ready?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Zell took a moment to glance around the room, taking in the articles of clothing strewn about and the mostly empty duffle bag. "Hurry up, would you? I want to get this over with."

"Okay, okay. I'm so sorry you can't be bothered to do your job because you have a girlfriend," Seifer muttered as he started to pull the loose shirts and pants off the floor. Zell grimaced at him.

"Hey, at least I have one," he retorted, turning toward the door.

"Who said I want one?" Seifer fired back before Zell could leave with the last word. Zell turned around, a manic gleam in his eyes.

"I do," he stated. Seifer frowned at him.

"And what precisely does that mean?" he asked. But Zell had already exited the room, leaving behind a very puzzled Seifer. He stuffed the clothes into the duffle bag, and then slung it over his shoulder. Now was not the time to ponder Zell's words. They did indeed have a mission to complete.

* * *

Quistis looked about the road, carefully scanning for any hint of movement. So far the trip had been silent, almost deceptively so. Someone had clearly been after Caraway's life. Everyone knew that the best time for an attack was to strike while the enemy was still reeling, so why have all of this inactivity? It made her think they had something big planned, and that worried her. This first day had gone smoothly, and that was also suspicious to her. _Stop it,_ she commanded herself. _You're starting to sound like Squall, paranoid about everything._

"Uh-oh," said Gary suddenly from where he was driving the car. "We have a problem. There must be a leak in the gas tank, because we're losing gas much faster than we should be."

"Stupid rentals," Zell muttered under his breath. "They _never_ work the way they're supposed to."

"I think we're near a small town," Gary said. "Let's stop there a refuel, then we can continue on our way. Maybe we can even get another car."

"Sounds good to me. We should probably stop for the evening anyway," Seifer said. "It's getting awfully dark out, and I personally don't want to die because someone was asleep at the wheel."

"That sounds excellent," Caraway said. With that sort of vote, there was no argument. They reached the town, and pulled into the small inn. The owner looked up in surprise when five people walked in at 11:00 at night.

"Oh dear," the woman said, jumping up from where she had been cleaning the floor and hurrying over to the desk. "I never expected people to arrive this late. Thank goodness I was still up." Now behind the counter, she pulled out a book and pen, and looked at them. "Five of you?"

"Yes, and only one night," Gary said. "We'd like as many single rooms as possible."

"That can be arranged," she said, quickly tallying up the price. "Your total is 350 for one night, five rooms." Gary passed her the money, and she placed it in her apron pocket, no doubt to deal with it later. She pulled out five keys, each of which had a number on it. "The rooms are all downstairs on the left. Between 7:00 and 9:00 we serve a continental breakfast."

"Thank you," Quistis said. The woman smiled.

"Have a nice night," she said before disappearing into the back. Tired, all five climbed up the stairs and walked into their respective rooms. They were actually quite roomy inside, hosting a bed, dresser, closet, and vanity table. Off to one side was a small toilet, complete with complimentary soap and towels. It wasn't as bad as some of the motels that she'd stayed in.

Unusually wide-awake for this ungodly hour, she walked out a sliding glass door and onto a patio, which was within the depths of a small garden. The air was fresher than it was in Deling, and it was something that she missed about Balamb. Sure, the salty tinge wasn't there, and seagulls didn't cry out, but it was better than the smog and hum of Deling City.

"I see you're up too," Seifer said, causing her to turn around. He was on the patio next to hers. She smiled.

"I couldn't sleep, and it's so nice out. Much better than Deling, don't you think?"

"I really is," he said, inhaling deeply. There was a silence, during which Quistis wondered if she should bring up the events of the previous night. She wasn't quite sure what to make of his actions or his words, yet she got the feeling that he didn't either. Still, she couldn't help her curiosity.

"Seifer, what exactly did you mean last night?" She saw him freeze up for a moment, and then he immediately relaxed, trying to look calm and under control.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and she almost rolled her eyes. Playing dumb wasn't going to get him very far.

"I mean what you said," she told him. He was quiet a moment, and she could almost hear the gears turn about in his head as though he were debating what exactly to tell her, and how much.

"Are you asking me why I said it, or what it means?" he asked finally.

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"No, not really."

"Fine. Then why did you say it?" Better take it one question at a time. She needed to find out what exactly was going on here. He sighed, and then walked over to her patio. He looked at her a moment.

"I don't really know. For some reason I can't grasp, my mind took over and said that. I've been puzzling over it to, and I don't have an answer. At least, not one that I feel I should give you."

"And why not?"

"Just because," he said, and turned to leave. She thrust her hand out, and grabbed him by the arm and spun him around with more force than she thought she possessed. Perhaps it was shock that allowed her to make him turn around so easily, but it didn't matter.

"For once in my life, Seifer Almasy, just once I want the truth," she said, looking him straight in the eye. He looked back at her, unflinching, and suddenly she became acutely aware of her hand still on his arm. She quickly withdrew it, but never broke eye contact. "What exactly is going on, and what exactly do you mean?"

"Okay, okay," he said. He turned his back to her, but he didn't try to leave. She watched him gather his thoughts for a moment. "I honestly don't know why I said that, I was telling you the truth there. It just kind of happened. As for what it means… I can kind of answer that." He took a breath, and continued, never once facing her. "For some reason, as long as I've been alive, I just feel more comfortable around you. It's like…you're the only person I can be myself around. You keep assuming that people do things for some sort of ulterior motive, because you managed to save the world and be a celebrity. But what I said was what I meant. I _wanted_ to ask you to dance, so I did."

"You…you actually wanted to be around me?" Quistis said, not entirely sure what to do. For this entire mission, and even before it she'd felt strangely drawn to him, something that was happening more and more frequently. But she'd never actually thought that he might even think of her as a friend in return.

"Well, yeah," he said, turning around. "It's like when we were kids, and you were always the one I wanted to hang out with because you were actually my age. I just feel like I can be near you and be myself, and that you're not going to judge me. I don't feel that way any other time. I…I just…" He stopped, looking about for a moment.

"Seifer…" Quistis said suddenly, feeling her breath catch in her throat. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say I love you."

He froze, and they both stood there a moment, neither entirely sure how to act. Seifer obviously hadn't meant to say it, and Quistis didn't know how to react to it.

"You….you…" she couldn't say it. He turned around, quicker than before.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"Seifer, wait!" she said, before he could leave. He winced, and then turned around to face. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged him. He hadn't been expecting this, as he tensed up a moment before relaxing. "I…I think I love you too," she whispered, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back.

"Quistis, are you sure? You do know who I am, right?" he said.

"I don't care any more about what Garden thinks. Because what you said is right on the mark. I only ever feel like I can be myself when you're near too. And I'm sure that's what love is; being with someone that you're comfortable with. So I don't care what other people think, or even if I get back my license. Suddenly, it doesn't matter anymore."

Seifer placed a hand under her chin, raising her head up to look at him. For a moment their eyes met, then slowly he lowered his face to hers, and kissed her. She was startled only for a moment before she reciprocated the kiss, putting her arms around his neck.

"Well, I was coming to see why you weren't answering your phone, Quistis, but you appear to be in good hands," said a voice from the door. The two teens broke apart and looked over guiltily at a smirking Zell. _He has the worse timing in the world,_ Quistis thought. "Next time, just hang something on the door like everyone else," he said, walking out. Quistis was sure her face was now as redder than a tomato. Seifer also seemed embarrassed.

"Good night," he said, heading back to his own room, but not before placing a quick, final kiss on her lips. Then he was gone.

* * *

Breakfast proved to be fascinating the next morning. Quistis and Seifer were pointedly ignoring each other, and Zell had a long, loud fit of giggles every time he looked at one of them. Seifer made a mental note to kill Zell, preferably with something blunt and hard. He eyed the ridiculous Tonberry statue beside the table, which was wearing a goofy grin that made it seem defenseless but was really anything but. They were tough to face, and their King was the one of the worse.

"Did you all have a pleasant night?" Gary asked, oh so naïve to what was going on. Seifer nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Zell was once again laughing hysterically on the floor, and Seifer was wondering how much it would cost him to use the plaster statue to hit Zell, thus ridding the world of two evils in one swift blow. He looked at Zell curiously, but knew better than to question what was going on. "I'll, uh, go get General Caraway," he said, quickly exiting the room.

"What is your problem?" demanded Quistis the moment Gary left. "I would think you're mature enough to handle people kissing by now. I bet you and your girlfriend do it all the time."

"What's it to ya?" he questioned, although he had stopped laughing.

"All I'm saying is stop," Quistis threatened. "That is, if you and your future wife ever want kids." Zell turned a very pale white, and nodded.

"Totally gotcha," he said. "100 percent."

"I'm glad we had this talk," Quistis said. She smiled at him, and Seifer smiled back. Maybe he was starting to get a lucky break in life. All he had to do was finish this mission, and he could be a SeeD. Although he was surprised to realize that the only reason it mattered anymore was because Quistis was in Garden. _I'm way different now…_

Gary ran into the room, having turned pale as a ghost. "Caraway's gone!" he gasped.

Seifer groaned. He'd spoken too soon.


	12. Chapter 11

Sorry to my dear reviewers, but I was on vacation for a long time. But here's the next chapter, ready for your reading pleasure. And this story officially has more chapters than any other story to date! I feel so proud of myself…

Lady Deathstryke: Awesome chapter? I'm getting a big head from all of these great reviews…but I love them all the same. Hope this chapter is just as good as the others.

Nevan: I'm glad you think this story is one of the best ever. Seifer/Quistis is one of my absolute favorite pairings too.

**Chapter Eleven: Research Center Assault**

"How gone do you mean?" asked Zell calmly, although Quistis could see his eyes narrowing in concentration. He wasn't as lackadaisical as he sometimes pretended to be. "Kind of gone, as he may be in this inn, or really gone, as in nowhere to be found?"

"Absolutely, completely, 100 percent gone," Gary said. "All I can find that might help us are some tire tracks that follow ours, then drive away from here toward Winhill. We're the only guests, so they must be from the kidnappers."

"So they were following us. Damn," Seifer hissed. "How did we miss that? They must be professionals."

"That or they knew that we were coming here," Quistis whispered. The silence was so thick that had it been an actual silence, a freshly sharpened knife would have been needed to cut clean through it. No one wanted to deal with the possibility that someone they had taken into their confidence had betrayed them.

"Oh man, I'm going to blow this mission," moaned Gary, collapsing onto a bench near their table. "This is not going to look good on my record. My first command, and I've lost the person I was charged to protect." Quistis cleared her throat.

"Don't beat yourself up about this yet. We need to think logically about this. Who specifically did you tell our plans to, Gary?"

"All I told was Headmaster Cid of Balamb Garden and Headmaster of Galbadia Garden. They were the only people that I needed to alert about our movement."

"Someone at the train station could have seen us, and told a politician who asked too many questions, as well as reinforcing it with some gil."

"Who would have been watching us that closely, though? We haven't been the least bit suspicious, Seifer. In fact, that attempt on Caraway's life only strengthened our position in Deling," Zell pointed out.

"That's true. We hid very well. Whoever found us must have been aiming for this all along, not just seized the opportunity. Maybe we should call Natalie, as her to snoop around," Quistis said.

"I'll get a hold of Spikes again, and ask him to call my cell phone," Seifer said. "I was the one who spoke with him the first time, after all."

"You should do that right now," Quistis said. Seifer nodded and walked away to a corner for some silence as he pulled out his black phone. Quistis turned to Gary, who was still sitting on the bench, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. She got down on her knees, and looked straight at his head. "Gary," she said, causing him to look up. "You need to take command."

"I can't; I've already failed. I'll never be a SeeD with this black mark on my record. My chances are shot, my options gone. I'm – "

"Listen to me a moment! Everyone makes mistakes. It's learning to pick ourselves up and go on that proves who is and isn't ready for something. What will really make a black mark on your record is if you sit by idly and do nothing. If you get out there, and take responsibility for repairing your mistakes, then you'll prove to the world that you can handle anything."

Gary looked at her a moment, his face still pale. But he nodded to her. "…You're right. I can still recover, can't I? I'm alive, aren't I?"

"You are," she said, smiling at him. He jumped up, a new look of confidence on his face. She stood up as well, and looked him straight in the eye.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Thanks, Quistis. I know I took your command, and for once I feel sorry. Someday you're going to make a great leader, and a great teacher."

"Thank you," she said. Then he walked off, getting together supplies, and she turned back to where Seifer stood, anxious to hear the outcome of his conversation.

* * *

"Spikes? Hey, it's Seifer, and I spoke with you before, about getting a hold of Natalie Illuna. Is there anyway you could ask her to call my cell phone, if you happen to see her?"

"_She might be nearby_," he said. "_Is now a good time?_"

"Now would be excellent," he said, and waited a moment as two voices spoke in the background. Then someone spoke.

"_Seifer, how good to hear from you again,_" said her cool voice. "_To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?_"

"I need some information, as quickly as possible."

"_Go on_."

"I want to know who was interested in General Caraway's movements; specifically, within the last three days or so. If you can tell me where the place is where they got information about Caraway, that would also be appreciated."

"_Why, that's easy. I know that right now. And as soon as you transfer a modest amount to one of my secondary bank accounts, and we confirm the transaction, I will tell you_."

"What constitutes a modest amount?" Quistis walked over in time to hear that comment, and looked curiously at him. He noticed that she'd managed to get Gary up and moving; how she managed to motivate people like that would always be beyond him.

"_Say, ten thousand_."

"Ten thousand." Quistis' eyebrow rose, but she didn't say anything.

"_Take it or leave it._"

"All right. One moment while I get to my computer and pull up the files." He moved toward his room, Quistis following him.

"What's happening?" she asked as he pulled out a laptop and called up the internet, typing in the address for their SeeD bank account.

"She'll give us all the information, who was snooping around and where their intelligence is, if we send her ten thousand. Since it seems reasonable, I've decided to go ahead. But tell Gary for me anyway, would you?" She nodded, and left the room. He finished logging on, then filled out the amount and turned back to the phone. "Where am I sending the money?"

"_Account number 110-1821-555z_," she said. He typed in the number, repeating it back to her, then hit the transmission key. He waited for it to process, then he spoke with Natalie.

"Have you received it?"

"_We have, and everything is in order. The person who was curious about General Caraway was none other than Darius Deling._"

"That was what I suspected. Where is their information coming from?"

"_Why, from me,_" she said, as though that should have been obvious. "_Anyone who wants to know anything comes to me. I'm the best, after all. And you came to me, didn't you?_"

"I never expected you to betray us." Natalie laughed.

"_Betray you? Seifer, I'm not a SeeD. I don't fight for other people's ideals, and I don't lend myself to their causes. I'm after something basic, money. It's as pure and simple as that. You never paid me to keep your dealings a secret, therefore the knowledge I had gained of your interest was for sale to anyone who wanted to know about it. I thought you were aware of the way things worked down here. Perhaps I was mistaken._"

"Maybe," he said. "Are you going to tell Darius we know?"

"_Only if he asks. I don't like governments, so I don't volunteer information to them, but I am willing to take their money. And I am willing to offer you some information, if you'll pay. And believe me, you would like to know this._"

"What do I need to pay for this information, and security with our dealings?"

"_Maybe I could teach you a trick or two after all_," she laughed. "_Let's say five thousand, shall we?_"

"Same place?"

"_110-1821-555z_." He retyped it, typed the amount, and sent it. "_Everything's in order,_" said Natalie on the other end."_They mentioned that there was a research center near Winhill that they were using for something. That was going to be their transmission point. From there I don't know where Caraway was going. I don't even know what they want him for. But I can tell you that he will be held there twenty-four hours, so you'd better get a move on._"

"Okay, then. Thank you for your time."

"_Of course. Good luck. It would be a shame if such good customers died._" There was a click, and the line went dead. Seifer put his phone back, then went to find the others. There wasn't much time.

* * *

The Research Center looked much as Quistis remembered it. The only difference was that it was now off the coast of Winhill instead of in the middle of the ocean. Seifer whistled as he looked at it.

"That's big," he said. "I mean, the pictures I looked up didn't do justice to the size of this place at all."

They had separated into two groups upon arriving at Winhill. Zell, to the confusion of Gary and the annoyance of Quistis and Seifer, had insisted that he team up with Gary to leave them some 'alone time'. Not that she was complaining…it was just annoying when your friends ganged up on you like that. She decided she owed Squall and Rinoa a bit of an apology when she got back to Garden.

After an hour of searching, it looked as though Squall had been right all along. There was really no place they could enter without causing a commotion of some sort. _Something really big is going on here…_ she thought apprehensively.

"Quistis, are you alive over there?" asked Seifer, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked, and then grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. I was just thinking." She started off down the cliff face to avoid further questioning, making Seifer run to catch up with her.

"So, what should we do?" he asked, not our of breath because of his training.

"Regroup," Quistis said. "It's time to, and Gary will want to form a plan."

"That guy is really starting to get on my nerves," grumbled Seifer. "Even I have more battle and SeeD experience than him."

"I know he's nervous, but this is the first time he's been in charge of a group of SeeDs. And it probably doesn't help that we're all famous war heroes or, in your case, infamous among the Galbadians."

"I know, I know. That doesn't make me like the situation any more, though," he complained as they reached the beach area, where Zell and Gary were supposed to meet them. He immediately sat down on a rock, looking off toward the west where the sun was beginning to set. "You know, this would be the perfect time for us to attack."

"Because we can sneak up on them under the cover of night?"

"Exactly," Seifer said. "And I have a brilliant plan, too."

"I'm not sure whether to be worried or impressed," Quistis said dryly, earning her a shove into the sand for her comment.

"Excuse me, but I thought we had something special and supportive going on," he said, acting as though she'd wounded him. She had hurt his ego, but it needed a little deflating anyway.

"We do," she said, sitting up and glancing at him. "That doesn't mean we have to stop teasing and tormenting each other. If we did, it would go against all the laws that were set down since we met."

"True, true. I wouldn't want to throw the whole universe out of balance, would I?"

"No," she said. Then she frowned, thinking back to something that had been on her mind through the day. She supposed now was the time to mention it. "Seifer?"

"Yeah?" he asked absentmindedly, scanning the horizon impatiently for Zell and Gary."

"Does this mean…we're, you know…an item?"

He blinked, obviously thrown by this statement, and looked down at her. "You mean…dating?"

"Yes."

"Uh, I guess. I mean, it is a little odd, isn't it? Garden's biggest protégé and Garden's biggest failure."

"Look at it this way. We're keeping the balance," she said, laughing. He laughed too.

"I always knew I was good for something."

"What, kissing every female in sight?" asked a very cheerful voice from behind them. Zell was standing there, his arms crossed, grinning wildly at the two of them.

"And how would you know?" retorted Seifer, smirking as Zell's face wrinkled in disgust. Gary cleared his throat.

"While I agree with Zell's sentiments," he said, shooting Seifer a nasty look, "We need a plan now," he said, looking between the three. Quistis gave him an innocent look, smiling as sweetly as she could.

"Ignore them," she said.

"I have an idea," Seifer added, turning business-like. "I think if we act quickly, everything could be in place before the sun completely sets."

"Hmm, a dusk attack. Not bad," Gary said, considering the implications. "Okay, fire away."

* * *

On the dimly lit and newly built dock, Zell stood near a huge pillar, which was currently holding up a crane, clinging to the shadows. He had out a pair of night-vision goggles, and was currently scanning the dock. But the peaceful town of Winhill seemed to have lulled them into a false sense of security, because there were only a few half-awake guards roaming around the area. He waited ten minutes, watching their patterns. A guard usually came by once every two to three minutes. He was working with a small window frame, but he could manage it. He'd made it to the crane, hadn't he?

The pillar was suspended in the water, with part of it against a command building, meaning he had to go into the line of vision of the guards to get to the opposite side of the pillar. As the guard meandered away from his hiding place, he crept quietly toward the other side of the pillar.

Once there he tied the end of a rope around of the supports, double knotting it to be sure he didn't fall into very cold and very salty ocean water. He pulled against it, and the knot didn't give; now he could be sure it would probably hold his weight. Tying it around his waist, he took a deep breath, and walked off the edge of the dock, keeping the rope in a death hold.

After a moment he stopped swinging violently, and reached out to steady himself against the pillar. Letting go of the rope he dug into a small backpack that was slung across his back. Zell pulled out a small bomb, and attached the clips into the wood of the pillar. Pulling himself up the rope he placed a few more, even swinging out a bit to the placement wasn't so linear. Reaching the top, he waited until he saw a guard pass to jump lightly over the edge. He undid the knots on the rope, and slid smoothly back into the shadows. His job wasn't over yet.

* * *

Roughly a mile away, in the middle of the ocean near Winhill, Gary stood near a side entrance to the Research Center. He was cold and shivering, having just swum there from the mainland, but that didn't deter him from his job. Pulling out the same type of bombs that Zell had finished placing moments ago upon the dock, he stuck them around the entrance. The area was oddly quiet, and no guards were visible except at the main entrance. This was slightly unnerving to them, but they had pushed aside this information. Hopefully, it was just stupidity on their part and not part of a plan.

Each bomb placed, he made his way to the back entrance. There was a small protrusion there, probably a sensor station of sorts. He'd made sure that what ever it was, it was disabled when he'd reached the Center. Now he hid behind it, just in case there were guards he was unaware of. Then he waited.

Ten minutes later a water-logged Zell joined him in his hiding place. No words were spoken; they knew what needed to be done. Gary pulled a detonator out of his back pocket, and pulled it out of the waterproof container he'd placed it in. After a moment's wait, he pressed the button.

Instantly the sky turned an angry crimson and gold as the bombs exploded simultaneously. Warning klaxons blared to life, and soldiers began running about, trying to calm the panicking workers and stop the blazes. One fire in particular, in the middle of the dock, was flaring up higher than the others were. Counting the blazing areas, Gary noticed there were five instead of the four they'd mapped out. He turned to Zell, but the blonde-haired man seemed to have anticipated the question.

"I found a bonus," he said, grinning as he started readying his fists for the assault on the back door. "A gas truck."

* * *

Quistis and Seifer had been in position well before the others, so they had no idea when the explosions would go off. But when they did they were hard to miss. He nudged Quistis, and the two of them silently left their hiding place, working their way quietly toward the front door. 

It had been his idea, of course. After all, it would be what they least expected. Create a diversion, go in through the back – it was the stereotypical plan for everyone. Who would expect them to literally knock on the front door? Gary and Zell trying to get in the back would make it seem as though they were following that plan, and if the two got in it was only an added bonus.

There were five guards at the front gate. It was crucial that they kill or incapacitate them before they could raise the alarm that there were people at the front gate too. For that, they needed to draw at least one or two away – and if most or all of them left, they would sneak in while they were distracted.

Picking up a heavy stone, Seifer threw it with all of his might against the metal wall. It hit the wall with a clang, causing all of them to look up. Finally, one started off to look at it.

"Wait, Summers! Shouldn't we report it?" called a nervous voice. Seifer and Quistis tensed; they had been afraid that they would do this. But the one called Summers laughed.

"They'll just laugh at us unless we have proof," he said. "Remember when we called in an intruder and there was only a monster there? When those five platoons got here we were the laughing stock of the base for weeks. Do you want to go through that again?"

"No, not really…" said the other one. "Okay, but we'll go together. There's strength in numbers, right?"

Seifer said a mental prayer of thanks to the god or goddess that had put these two on guard duty tonight as they worked their way over to the wall, and his hiding spot. Only a little further…

As the guard reached them, he leapt out, pulled up the mask, and shoved a cloth with chloroform over the man's nostrils. He struggled a moment, then went limp, the agent doing it's work as he passed out. Next to him, Quistis had managed the same thing. They reached down and pulled off the uniforms, and put them on. Quistis made a face as she pulled on the jacket.

"These are sweaty and gross, just like I remember," she muttered. "I'm glad to know that while they're going downhill they continue to have the same high standards for their uniforms."

"When were you ever in a Galbadian uniform?" Seifer asked, curious.

"For a mission I had during the war," she said. She smiled slyly at him, and he blinked, unsure as to what this meant. Then she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Wha…?"

"That was just for luck," she said, grinning evilly as she pulled on her face mask. He glared at her, but he didn't really mean it. Her mean streak was just one of her charms.

* * *

"Damn, I can't reach them!" Zell complained, keeping his voice down as much as possible. He and Gary had indeed managed to get past the guards, and were currently hiding in a storage area behind some crates. Zell was trying to reach Quistis and Seifer to tell them that they were in the base, but the phone wasn't working.

"Zell, I'm sure they're either busy or the phone is getting interference," Gary said. Zell frowned.

"I know, I know," he said. "But we didn't have a very clear plan as to what we were going to do when we got in here."

"I think we should wait a moment, they head out to draw their attention," Gary said. "That gives Quistis and Seifer the optimum amount of time to find Caraway, and maybe even sneak around a bit."

"Good thinking," Zell said. "I have a few of these bombs left; should we use them?"

"No, I don't think so. That would just draw a lot of people down on us. Instead, let's ambush people as they walk by, then set up another ambush so they don't realize where we're going to strike from next."

"All right," he said, taking a quick peek around the crate. "There's a small group right over there? Do you want to take them?"

"Sure," Gary said. He pulled out a silencer, and attached it to the end of his handgun. After he was sure it was in place, he nodded to Zell. The two of them crept around opposite sides of the boxes, and pounced.

The first two didn't know what hit them. One moment six of them were milling around, wondering what to do, and the next they were unconscious. Their companions were good; with only a moment's hesitation they reached into their pockets, and withdrew their own weapons. The bullets poured out of the guns, but Gary and Zell hadn't waited for the soldiers to get their bearings. They had already moved away, circling around the guards. Gary got off two shots, which both downed the man they were aimed at. Zell kicked one in the back of the legs, causing him to keel over, then punched him in the face, knocking him out. Zell turned to the next guard, and kicked the gun out of his hands. Since the gunfire of the guards had probably attracted attention already, he grabbed the gun and turned in on the guard, neatly dispatching the final guard.

Zell grinned in triumph, and was about to turn around when someone kicked his legs out from under him. Given how low the kick was, it was probably from the guy he'd punched earlier. Apparently he wasn't as unconscious as he'd thought. He felt something connect with the back of his head, and started to see black engulfing his vision. In the distance he heard a struggle, then a shot. _I hope that was Gary's gun and not the other guys…_ Zell thought, then he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Do you think they managed to make it in okay?" Quistis wondered as they made their way to the prison cells, still disguised. Seifer frowned.

"I don't know," he said. "Probably. I mean, wouldn't we have heard if they'd been captured? After all, they think those are the only two that are trying to get in."

"Yeah, probably," Quistis said, forcing a smile. "And if not, we can always rescue them while we're down here."

"Also true," he said. They rounded a corner, then stared at the sight before them.

"Put down your weapons and remove your masks," said a familiar voice, connected to a familiar face. "And do it slowly."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Surprises**

Seifer stared. It was the last person on earth he would have expected to be standing there, holding a gun directly at him. Well, not really. He thought it even less likely it would be the long dead Ultimecia, or Quistis, or Zell, or even that annoyingly nice Selphie girl. But it was still a surprise nevertheless.

"Gary, you two-timing bastard," he hissed as they lowered their weapons and removed the masks from their faces.

"Melodramatic as always, huh, Almasy?" Gary said, laughing. The gun didn't quiver an inch. _We might be in trouble now. _ "Don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Isn't it simple? I want to be more than some stupid underpaid SeeD, obviously. Besides, this has less of a chance of getting me killed before the age of thirty, something I look forward to with all my heart. As it is, you won't even be living past nineteen. Now _move_."

"At the risk of sounding cliché, don't you think someone will stop you?"

"No questions until we get to the Interrogation Room," Gary spat, aiming the gun directly at him. Five soldiers appeared behind him, brandishing machine guns. If it had been just Gary, the odds would have been fine. But not five versus two, armed versus unarmed. And so, hearts sinking, they followed the instructions as three guards moved in front of them, while Gary and two others marched behind.

The Interrogation Room was nothing more than a small room with a table and four chairs, two on each side. At the insistent prodding of the cold metallic nozzles in their backs, Quistis and Seifer sat down on one side. Gary sat across from them, and the soldiers took up their posts: one behind Gary, two at the door, and one each behind Quistis and Seifer. Whoever had planned this, whether it was Gary or someone else, clearly wasn't going to take any chances. That thought was only confirmed when more guards appeared to handcuff them before going about their jobs.

"Well, now," said Gary. He looked at them. "I don't suppose that you'd be willing to talk freely?" Silence greeted his question. "Ah well, I didn't think so," he said in a long-suffering sigh. "We'll just have to wait until he gets here to ask the questions he wants."

"Who are we waiting for?" demanded Quistis. Gary looked at her in annoyance.

"I don't think you understand the function of an Interrogation room, Ms. Trepe. The one in charge, i.e. me, asks the questions. The ones that are being interrogated, i.e. yourself and Mr. Almasy, answer the questions asked by the ones in charge. The process doesn't reverse itself, as that would go against all of the rules of interrogation."

"If we're going to find out eventually, why not make it now instead of later?" she persisted. Gary sighed.

"There you go, trying to reverse the process again," he said sadly. "When will you learn?"

"I guess I'm just not a good learner."

Gary ignored her; apparently, he had no more to say.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask that you be goaded into telling us your top secret plan, huh?" Seifer asked hopefully.

"It would," Gary said shortly.

"I bet you don't have a plan," taunted Seifer. Gary said nothing. "I bet you're just winging it. I bet that if people remotely bigger than you walked in right now you'd keel over, just because you don't have a plan of any sort."

"Will you be quiet or do I have to have you silenced until he gets here?" demanded Gary. "I do have some rather potent Silence spells on me."

"I'll be good," Seifer said hastily. He hated loosing the ability to speak. They sat in silence for another minute. Seifer, to amuse himself, started to tap out music rhythms, alternating between hitting his hands on his legs and on the metal desk in front of him. Quistis was staring quietly into space; no doubt her brain was in overdrive, trying to find a weakness in their system. Seifer didn't believe in over analyzing, though. What happened, happened. That was his motto. Why go against fate?

The door slide open behind him, and he turned around, as did Quistis, each eager to learn who exactly was doing all of this. And they weren't disappointed, either, as Marcus Deling stepped into the room.

"Good evening," he said smoothly, as though they had just crossed each other in the streets. He sat down in the chair opposite them, and stared at them a moment, as though contemplating them.

"So, you're the man behind this, huh?" Seifer said, stopping his music and turning his full attention to the man in front of him. Usually he wouldn't have given the man a second thought, but when people controlled whether he lived or died he usually perked up a bit. "I would've thought that Darius was in on it too, or something."

"Mmm," he said, smiling. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to give away my conspirators?"

"Well, you just told us you have some," Quistis said. The smile fell from his face, and his eyes narrowed.

"Enough questions! I demand to know what you're doing here!" he snarled, his face turning a nasty puke-green and contorting, his knuckles becoming white as they clutched the table.

"Hey, you stole our charge, General Caraway," said Seifer innocently. "We're just trying to get him back, which is completely normal."

"And what, pray tell, was _General_ Caraway doing out here in the first place?" Marcus hissed. "And don't give me that bullshit about 'sending him away for some relaxation'. Someone with a lot of skill has been trying to get in here, and all of a sudden a squad of SeeDs show up, two of which happen to be the supposed _world saviors_?" The snarled emphasis on the words showed that he thought very little of Zell and Quistis. "What are the odds of that?"

"Would you care to tell me?" Seifer asked, smirking. "Or would you rather I calculate that for you?"

"There is no need to be a smart ass," Marcus said, trying to regain his cool.

"Better to be that than to be a dumb ass," Seifer said casually. Marcus closed his eyes a moment, as though he were trying to receive strength from on high. Of course, Seifer rather doubted that heaven (if it did indeed exist) would grant him such a wish.

"Of course, you have all been very easy to deal with, so perhaps this isn't as hard as it seems. And you are nothing more than teenagers. You shouldn't even be involved in this adult world, the world of your betters."

"Hey, when was the last time you showed your face in public without twelve security guards and an escort? You're scared, more than those teenagers are. And that's just pathetic," Seifer sneered. He hadn't liked the man to begin with, but he liked him even less now. And if he was going to die, at least he could keep a shred of dignity with him.

Marcus' face contorted and his knuckles grew even whiter, but he managed to keep his anger in check. Even if he hadn't admitted to having an accomplice, Seifer would have known. No one with that little self-control would be able to mastermind something like this. And Darius did indeed seem like just the type of person who could. He was far too cold and calculating for Seifer's liking.

He got up, suddenly the epitome of calm. He walked over to Seifer, and looked down at him as one might look at pond scum. Then, without warning, he punched him straight in the jaw with a smooth uppercut.

For a moment the world seemed to spin faster than a carousel as his teeth clapped together, sending a wave of pain throughout his jaw and jerking his head up so that his neck received some whiplash. Slowly, agonizingly, everything skidded to a halt, and he began to see distinct shapes instead of colors whirling together, punctured by shifts of black. He could taste the acrid metallic flavor of blood in his mouth, although nothing seemed to be too seriously broken. He slowly, methodically, worked his jaw, trying to regain some sense in it.

"I am tried of this," Marcus finally said, his voice still eerily calm. "Just answer my questions."

"The only thing we are at liberty to state is our names, ranks, and identification numbers," said Quistis smoothly, before Seifer to get out another snide remark. Seifer had to admire her; she looked as cool and serene as though she were dealing with a troublemaker (a look Seifer had seen directed toward himself on more than one occasion), not being interrogated by a criminal.

"That is a pity," he said. "But I can see that there is nothing left for it."

"So, mind letting us go?" Seifer suggested hopefully. But Marcus ignored him this time, turning instead to the guards.

"If you don't mind, we'll be moving onto plan B," he informed them. With a venomous glance at Seifer, he nodded at him. "That one first."

Seifer felt a sinking feeling in his heart. If Galbadia really hadn't changed that much since he had been here, he wasn't in for much of a treat.

"What are you going to do?" asked Quistis.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. It's just a little…_jolt_…to convince his mouth muscles to talk," Marcus said, a malicious glint in his eyes. Seifer immediately reassessed the threat that he could be. Someone who delighted in torture was going to be very bloodthirsty and would kill with the slightest hint of defiance.

The guards dragged him away, and left Quistis standing in the room, snarling obscenities at them as she pounded against the door. He would have smiled, if it weren't for the danger of his predicament. _One day I should find out where she learned _that_ one…very colorful. A drunken sailor couldn't have done better._

It gave him an almost warm feeling, that someone could care that much about him. Maybe if he'd discovered this a little sooner, things could have been different. As of right now, though, there was nothing he could do about the past.

He looked at the familiar machine, standing cold and uninviting against the far wall. He knew what it would do, and he didn't want to experience that himself. But it was better him than her, right?

"Got a present for you, Mack."

He wanted to feel that way, because it was just the noble thing the knight-dream side of him wanted to feel, but a small part of him couldn't help wishing this wouldn't happen. It was that traitorous side, the side that wanted only personal comfort, and that side made him revile himself. Who was he to call himself human, when he wanted another to suffer for his crimes in his place?

"Huh, looks like he's getting a big jolt."

After all, he hadn't done a thing to help other people. Sure, he could twist the truth, say that it was all in their own interests to be 'toughened up', but that simply wasn't it. He had been an insecure child clinging to the one figure from his past that didn't hate him, Edea. Maybe if he'd looked around and tried to care, he wouldn't have lost Rinoa. He didn't still love her, he was glad that she was happy and that they had both moved on, but it had been his own stupidity that had lost her. Maybe he had just needed someone with her kind support to help him.

"Yeah, real funny man. Don't ya know who this is?"

Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he could feel the handcuffs dropping away from his wrists to be replaced by the rough leather straps hanging him from the machine, which felt frozen against his back. They were too tight, constricting blood, but that was the last of his worries.

Quistis had said that Ultimecia had managed to sway him through brainwashing to her side. But she couldn't do that to anyone else. She had seen the ember of weakness and seething anger in him, and had chosen to simply feed the fire. Her very words had sent him into a world of consuming fire. Her 'pep talks' would make his mind waver, and make that fire flare in his very soul, making him want to kill and burn and maim. Quistis sure had a funny way of looking at things, if she saw _his_ crimson soul as innocent.

"Who?"

That stupid Squall, being so good and nice all the time, living out his perfect dream of being a wonderful knight who rides up to save the damsel in distress and world all in one clean blow. He actually deserved someone like Rinoa or Quistis, a kindhearted person who wouldn't let him down. Sure, being a mercenary wasn't the pinnacle of goodness, but it was better than the murky depths of hell were Seifer had resided during the war. For the seven-hundredth time he wondered if Quistis was insane. Because no one with a brain like hers would see anything decent in a man like him. She had seen him slaughter so many people, approve of it, spread the infection of deceit that tore at the very moral fibers of a whole nation, delighting in its collapse.

So what the hell was she doing with him?

"That guy who bossed us around at the Desert Prison."

He wasn't a tragic hero like Squall, mistreated by the world but still with a shred of decency. And he hadn't been twisted by love of the only motherly figure he'd know. He had been angry at all of them for being so adjusted in the world, angry at Squall for having someone to miss and to love him, angry at his mother for dying in the war when she should have been there for him. He could blame so many people, like Squall, his mother, Edea, Ultimecia, Cid, the list went on and on.

But in the end, there was only one person left to blame, wasn't there?

"Well, well, look at his majesty now."

_Me._

The switch was flipped, and bolts of electricity flowed through his veins. He arched his back, as though with less physical contact it wouldn't hurt that much. But still the blue streaks flickered across his body, and his nerves began to become a mass of mind-numbing pain. And in one clear, shining moment he suddenly felt very sorry for Squall Leonhart.

Sorry man…but I guess this is just poetic justice…maybe I deserve this after all… 

Against his will his mouth opened in an ear-splitting scream. Everything hurt, and his jaw twice so. He felt like he would explode if this went on just another moment more.

But he was proud of himself when, just before he blacked out, he realized he really was truly and honestly glad he was here instead of her.

---

Quistis had given up pounding on the door half an hour ago. Now she sat facing the door, her eyes fogged over as she tried to assess the current situation. But the screams of agony that had begun to come from the room where Seifer was didn't help.

The first rule to becoming a SeeD – don't get attached to anyone. Well, she had thrown that rule out the window. _And I wonder why they took away my license?_

Frowning, she returned to the problem at hand. As she always did when a problem appeared, she applied her overanalyzing mind to the problem. Disassociating herself from the world, she let the textbook side of her kick in. _Remember the steps to evaluating. Just breath deep, and assess the entire situation._

_One – status of members. Quistis – imprisoned. Seifer – imprisoned/torture. Gary – traitorous son of a bitch. Zell – unknown. _No one had mentioned anything about him, so Quistis could only hope that he went for help. But she wouldn't count on it when she was making her plans. She was smarter than that.

_Two – assessment of surroundings. Small room, one door, no windows, no one except me, still in handcuffs. Location is Deep Sea Research Center, Winhill. Position of General Caraway unknown, in base for indefinite amount of time._

_Three – current materials. Four chairs, one table, and one boot knife._

_Four – enemies. Marcus Deling, Gary Seyrin, base guards, probably Darius Deling._

Suddenly, another thought struck her, jolting her out of her preprogrammed mode. _Just how far _does_ this infestation go into the infrastructure of Deling?_ That was something that she just didn't want to ponder. If the infestation went in too deep, they could cut off the head of the rebellion and still be left with the roots flourishing deep within the sewers of Deling, waiting for a safe time to blossom again.

With a start she realized that she could no longer hear Seifer. Had he talked, or had they simply gotten tired of him? She had to redouble her efforts. Fortunately, her hands were cuffed in front of her body. Reaching up, she undid one of the clips that held her hair in place. She slowly, painstakingly twisted it into a straight piece of metal, and then worked it into the small keyhole.

She couldn't believe the luck that she was having – either the guard had become complacent, or there was something worse waiting out there. Either way, she would leave completely ready to handle anything. Things were definitely better than at the Desert Prison, when she had been completely useless. That was the whole reason she had the boot knife, as a matter of fact. Because of what had happened there she had added it to her usual fighting array. She had become very proficient in its use.

Quistis could hear guards talking to each other outside the door, although no matter how hard she strained she couldn't make out any actual words. The tone was calm, but it was bordering on the edge of panic. Could it be Zell, or Seifer? Or perhaps someone even worse was coming to see her. That she didn't have time for. She redoubled her efforts, and was rewarded with a snap as the handcuffs sprang open. Without pausing she hurried to the door, and inserted her makeshift key. The voices had subsided, but she had no doubt that the guards were still present. Pressing her ear near the keyhole, she heard a tiny snap as that lock opened too. She reached down into her boot, and withdrew the knife. It gleamed brightly in the sterile light from the ceiling, freshly sharpened and ready. Quistis knew that she would need to move fast if they had guns of any sort, without any protection against them.

From the number of voices that she thought she had heard, there were three to four guards out there, assuming that the one with the news had gone back to his post. Probably one on either side of the door, and at the corridor ends. Maybe even one across from the door, although that was doubtful. Fingering the knife, she drew a breath, and released all of her emotions in that one breath. Now was not the time for thought. Now it was time to kill.

She ripped the door open as fast as she could, her blade flashing to the left. It caught the guard right between the ribs, and with a grunt he went down. She noticed exactly two more guards, the other advancing on her from his position near the right side of the door, and the third from down the hall. Quistis curved the blade upward to make sure the first was dead, and then withdrew it from the wound, ducking under the gun that was trying to bear down on her. She lunged out, and was rewarded with a quick stab to the lung. He fell against her, gasping for air.

The third had reached her by this time. Keeping the dying guard between her and the third, she eased her knife out as the other trained his gun on her, his hands shaking.

"Drop the weapon!" he shouted, his voice quavering as much as his hands. He was just a cadet…but he was her enemy, and she had to stop him. Without responding, she threw the now limp body at the man, who jerked up his gun in surprise. Taking the opening, Quistis used the blade to score a clean slit against his throat. His eyes were wide with shock. No doubt he, like most new people, had believed himself to be invincible. She swooped and picked up the discarded gun, slipping the knife back into her boot, after cleaning it on the dead man. A sound made her whirl around, gun at the ready.

"Quistis, don't shoot!" called the voice. It was Zell, looking like hell, but still alive. She lowered the weapon a little in relief.

"I didn't know what had happened to you," she said. He grimaced, but what he said next brought her back to reality.

"Where's Seifer?" he asked. Her eyes widened as she remembered.

"They took him to be tortured when we wouldn't speak," she said. "I think it was down this way." He nodded. She was thankful that he knew that now was not the time to pretend any more dislike toward Seifer. She nodded in return, and they ran off in the direction she indicated.

"I suppose you've seen Gary…?" he asked her quietly, as they ran. She nodded. And those five simple words conveyed all that needed to be said.

---

Seifer was drifting in and out of a nightmare. Whenever his brain would regain consciousness he would feel the pain of the volts, feel each shockwave move over his body in an agonizingly slow manner. Time had become like trying to move in water – everything was slow and jerky. And through it all, as though from a distance, a voice called to him.

"Why are you here?"

When he lost consciousness he could feel old memories resurfacing, multiplying and becoming even worse. Even sleep was no refuge for him now – would any place ever be?

A woman entered the room during his few moment of consciousness. He felt that he should know her, from some distant time. She smiled at him, but it was far from comforting. She placed a cool hand to his head, and cocked her head at him.

"Why don't you just give up?" Her voice was like poisoned honey. It sounded so sweet and innocent, but underneath were the undertones of death. She was no stranger to the battlefield. "You didn't answer my call before. Why?"

"What…" He couldn't finish the sentence. Talking hurt too much. He didn't want answers, he just wanted it to end.

"Why don't you…just tell me…" Her voice lowered, her face came closer to his, and his mind knew her name, somewhere in the back of its icy depths, and tried to scream it to him, but he couldn't hear through the rushing in his head. "…everything about you?"

He tried to jerk away, to resist, to something. But his muscles no longer obeyed him, and the woman's eyes were hypnotic. As he stared into their depths, he sensed something that wasn't quite right, something out of place. And in one moment it all fell into place. His eyes widened it surprise. _She's…_

Flicker.

_The Orphanage._

_It was the beach late in the afternoon. He was just a small child, as his mother one of the first casualties of the war. He was building a sandcastle apart from the others, but it kept falling down. The others had decided long ago that his sandcastle was no longer worth bothering with, and had started a lively game of tag in the grass above._

_He just sat there, pouting, when a little girl came over and introduced herself as Quistis, a new child there. She had helped him make it stronger, helping him to fix it when parts would cave in on themselves. She was there for three hours until it was just right, ignoring the others calling for her to come over and join them in their fun._

_It was kind of funny how she was still here, just when he felt like caving in._

Flicker.

_Balamb Garden. _

_He could see Squall and Quistis standing apart from their class, talking together. Whenever he saw them, he could feel that he knew them. He would look at Squall, and a memory of fireworks popped into his head. When he saw Quistis he always saw a beach with a lone sandcastle on it, surrounded by heaps of discarded sand and a lone bucket, with a red flag waving proudly in the sunset._

_But then the moment would be gone, and he would shake his head in annoyance. She was just another girl in the class, and Squall was just his rival for always tattling on him when he tried to have some fun. An incident involving a ten-year-old Seifer trying to sneak out of his room to steal some candy from the cafeteria leapt to the surface._

_But that instant of memory always lingered close to the surface._

Flicker.

_Timber's TV station._

_He had been so worried about Rinoa, afraid that Squall was going to fuck up the mission, afraid that if he didn't make it there then she wouldn't make it out alive._

_Ultimecia came to him, as Edea. She once again challenged him, calling him a scared little boy. And in his pride, he fell for what she said. He believed that unless he did as she said, he was going to fail, and be nothing more than the weakling he never wanted to be. He entered the vortex, and time shifted._

_She had told him so little, just what he wanted to hear. She made it sound so noble. Restrain the humans so that they could no longer hurt each other, with him at the helm. And people like Squall who had only tormented him could find a permanent rest._

_His face had broken out into a smirk at that thought._

Flicker.

_Deling City._

_Squall was falling, the icicle sticking out of his stomach. And Rinoa was reaching out, not toward him, but to Squall. He knew then he'd lost her. And that, instead of saddening him, filled him with rage._

_Later, when General Caraway called for the release of his daughter, Seifer had allowed it. He didn't want her hurt, just Squall, because once again Squall had come out on top. What hurt the most was the fact that he hadn't even meant to this time._

_He'd almost lashed out at Rinoa right then and there._

Flicker.

_Galbadia Garden._

_He had faced them there, all of them, even though Edea/Ultimecia had returned his memories. He had been surprised to see that Rinoa was with her dear 'boyfriend'. But it didn't matter. Better that he didn't have to end her life._

_He had drawn his gunblade with the intent to kill them. He had been ready to, was ready to kill them then scamper back to Edea and bask in her praise of him. Squall had been right. He was nothing more than a sorceress' lapdog. And he hated him for it._

_In that battle Quistis had almost been killed. Now that fact haunted him, but then he had been pleased. Her death had meant a personal for him, killing a woman who had always condescended him._

_What would she think if she knew _that_ little fact?_

Flicker.

_Lunatic Pandora._

_He'd almost lost her permanently when Adel had tried to kill her. He'd sacrificed her to the sorceress in a fit of rage. But when the deed had been done he'd left, and wept. He'd cried for Rinoa, for himself, for the nameless faces that had been destroyed because of him. He'd cried because he knew that a new age was coming, and it wasn't one he wanted to be a part of. Ultimecia had come to him, but he no longer wanted the hollow promises._

_And, when all of his tears were spent, he had gotten down on his knees, and done something that had been alien to him since he had been a child._

_He prayed._

_Not for himself, but for the world. Because they didn't deserve what he had done to them, what he was going to do to them. No longer could he be a knight. He had defiled the very name he had once exalted, and now he was barely fit to call himself a human. He was a monster, and he knew that._

_Tears had run down his face. And as he felt time begin to compress around him, he had hunched himself into a small ball, waiting for the end of the world._

_It had been so cold…_

Flicker.

_Caraway's mansion._

"_Come on, Squall doesn't know _anything_ about people. Absolutely nothing."_

Flicker.

_The hospital._

"_Let me tell you something, in all honesty. If that was you lying in that bed in there, I would be really depressed, and so would everyone else."_

Flicker.

_Tomb of the Unknown King._

"_For each hour you spent in battle, another fifteen went into making sure that you got that far. We are not a police force, Seifer, and we're more than mercenaries. We're spies, we're ambassadors, we're politicians, we're manipulators and we're mediators."_

Flicker.

_Deling City plains._

"_We all have to make sacrifices for what we really want."_

"_And what is it you really want, Seifer?"_

Flicker.

"No!" With that cry he forced himself from the onslaught of memories. He looked into her smiling face, deceptively angelic.

"Ahhh…" she said, as though he had just let her in on a big secret. "Now I understand so much more." She walked away, her long hair swishing to and fro as she left. He could see the simple white dress she wore, just another part of her disguise. She could have wings to help the image of an angel of mercy, for all he cared. But he knew who she really was, somewhere. But who or what?

"Miss? What should we do now?" called the operator, his hand on the switch. She stopped, her back to him. The very earth seemed to hold its breath as it waited for her to decree the judgment she saw fit for him. There was a smile in her voice as she spoke again, and he felt icy fingers running up his spine, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Continue." Then she was gone. The man cackled loudly, but Seifer could only remember that woman with the hands of death. As the switch was flipped, it rushed to him in an instant.

_She's…_

He blacked out.


End file.
